THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  CAROLINIANS 


CHARLES-TOWN  ." 


THE  CAROLINIANS 

An  Old-fashioned  Love  Story  of  Stirring  Times 
in  the  Early  Colony  of  Carolina. 


BY 

ANNIE  L.  SLOAN 


NEW  YORK  AND  WASHINGTON 

THE  NEALE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1904 


COPYRIGHT,  1904 
BY  ANNIE  L.  SLOAN 


PS 


S 


INTRODUCTION. 

This  book  was  not  a  deliberate  act.  I  did  not  choose 
the  subject  and  then  go  to  work  to  cram  for  its  execu- 
tion, as  does  an  undergraduate  for  his  examinations. 
A  wonder  story  of  the  old  Colonial  days  in  South 
Carolina  fell  into  my  hands  one  day,  and  becoming 
enthused  with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  the  thought  came 
to  me  that  here  was  unused  and  picturesque  setting  for 
a  tale  of  the  men  of  brawn  and  courage  who  became 
our  forbears  in  this  new  land  and  exercised  a  note- 
worthy influence  in  the  development  of  this  nation. 
The  story  itself  is  just  a  simple  love  story,  hundreds  of 
which  were  doubtless  lived  in  the  old  town  in  the  old 
days  regardless  of  terrors  by  land  and  by  sea,  hundreds 
of  which  are  doubtless  being  lived  in  the  old  town  today 
just  in  the  old  way,  though  neither  pirates  nor  Indians 
give  the  stage  setting.  Of  some  of  the  characters  who 
figure  in  these  pages  there  are  living  descendants.  To 
these  I  would  say  that  I  do  not  pretend  to  give  an  actual 
picture  of  the  private  lives  of  their  ancestors. 

In  narrating  the  public  incidents  of  their  lives  wherein 
they  distinguished  themselves,  I  have  carefully  followed 
the  old  records  and  best  established  authorities.  Their 
private  lives  as  here  depicted  are  purely  fiction. 


3279 


That  there  were  great  chivalry,  steadfast  endurance 
and  splendid  courage  among  those  men  upon  whom  the 
royal  gift  of  Charles  the  Second  devolved  we  cannot 
doubt,  and  to  believe  that  there  were  heroes  among  them 
is  an  inspiring  belief  for  us  who  live  today  and  draw  our 
blood  and  inspiration  from  those  men  whose  motto  was 
ever  noblesse  oblige.  Should  some  who  read  these 
pages  make  afterwards  a  pilgrimage  to  a  neglected 
corner  of  old  St.  Philip's,  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  find 
for  themselves  the  graves  of  those  intrepid  old  leaders, 
Gov.  Robert  Johnson  and  Col.  William  Rhett,  this  story 
will  at  least  have  revived  a  grateful  remembrance  of 
great  and  good  men  who  were  faithful  in  peace  and 
brave  in  war. 

ANNIE  L.  SLOAN. 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  November  16,  1904. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

.    Map  of  Charles  Town  in  1711 Frontispiece 

I.    Hopes 9 

II.    The  Promise  of  Summer 18 

III.    The  Trail  of  the  Serpent 27 

'     IV.     Prophecy 35 

V.    The  Words  of  the  Wise 45 

VI.    Wilful  Woman   53 

VII.    The  Courage  of  Anger 67 

IX.    The  Wing  of  Occasion 91 

X.     Disenchantment  98 

XL    Measure  for  Measure 103 

XII.     Seats  of  the  Mighty 109 

XIII.  Forest  Fires  122 

XIV.  Faithful  Unto  Death 146 

XV.    Troubles    163 

XVI.    A  Woman's  Atonement 181 

XVII.    Ill  Tidings    192 

XVIII.     Courage   198 

XVIX.     Strenuous  Days  211 

XX.     Stress    223 

XXI.    Thickening  Clouds 236 

XXII.     Noblesse  Oblige  245 

XXIII.  The  Ways  of  the  World 262 

XXIV.  The  Fever  of  Life 286 

XXV.     The  Heart  of  the  Forest 297 

XXVI.     Disappointments    320 

XXVII.     Patience   329 

XXVIII.    A  Question  of  Honor 334 

XXIX.     Steadfast  to  the  End 344 

XXX.    The  Mettle  of  Steel 350 

XXXI.    The1  Sum  of  Life 360 


THE  CAROLINIANS 


CHAPTER  I 

HOPES 

"Now,  young  man,  thy  days  and  thy  glories  appear, 
Like  sunshine  and  blossoms  in  spring  of  the  year; 
Thy  vigour  of  body,  thy  spirits,  thy  wit, 
Are  perfect  and  sound  and  untroubled  yet." 

— Wither. 

Untouched  by  the  shadow  of  things  political, 
Damaris  stood  in  the  Governor's  garden. 

A  strange  anomaly  was  the  Governor's  garden,  in 
old  Charles  Town,  in  April  of  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1718. 

Thick-set  with  blooms  imperial,  part  of  the  forest 
primeval,  magnolias  towered  in  native  strength ;  jes- 
samines bound  together,  with  influences  sweet,  the 
breezy-breasted  shrubs ;  scarlet  pomegranates  glowed 
like  the  bush  of  Moses  of  old ;  while  rose-oleanders 
and  golden  thorn  shouldered  each  other  against  the 
rough  coquina  wall,  pouring  over  its  jagged  inset  of 
glass,  cataracts  of  vivid  bloom.  In  the  heart  of  this 
riotous  color,  a  grass-plot,  therein  a  dial,  a  Maltese 
cross  of  black  marble,  whose  lengthening  shadows 
had  marked  for  several  decades  the  strenuous  hours 


10  The  Carolinians 

through  which  the  heterogeneous  colony  had  strug- 
gled; and  strangely  out  of  keeping  with  the  lush 
luxuriance  of  tropic  bloom,  about  the  foot  of  the  dial 
were  beds  of  pansies  and  English  daisies,  that  seemed 
to  cling  to  the  shadow  of  their  Old  World  comrade. 

Beyond  the  peaceful  garden  the  walls  of  the  city, 
high  barriers  of  concrete  well  garnished  with  pali- 
sades. Within  the  walls  irregular  squares  and  strag- 
gling lines  of  houses,  many  of  them  handsome  and 
well-built,  testifying  to  the  wealth  and  refinement  of 
the  colony,  that  had  already  gained  for  itself  an  en- 
viable reputation  among  the  settlements  of  the  New 
World.  Among  the  residences  goodly  houses  of 
worship  where  conformer  and  non-conformer  alike 
lifted  up  their  voices  in  praise  and  supplication,  for 
by  the  framing  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  by  the 
advice  of  the  great  Locke,  religious  liberty  had  been 
secured  to  all. 

At  the  intersection  of  the  two  thoroughfares,  and 
now  falling  somewhat  into  decay,  stood  the  old  S,t. 
Philips,  built  in  1681 ;  while  somewhat  nearer  the 
river  stood  the  new  English  Church,  in  process  of 
construction,  in  whose  goodly  walls,  well-laid,  cen- 
tered the  pride  of  the  Province. 

The  Independent  Church,  known  as  the  White 
Meeting  House,  that  gave  to  the  principal  roadway 
its  name,  stood  a  space  farther  on.  Within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  new  English  Church  stood  that  of  the 
French  Huguenots,  while  that  of  the  Anabaptists 
stood  close  to  the  southern  boundary.  In  among  the 
isolated  houses  were  bits  of  marshland  where  water- 
fowl nested  peacefully  and  little  tidal  creeks  mean- 
dered sluggishly. 


Hopes  11 

Sharp-set  without  and  within  stood  the  fortifica- 
tions, grim  keys  to  the  safety  of  the  Province,  mili- 
tary genius  guided  by  local  experience  having  placed 
them  at  every  open  point  of  danger. 

Stoutly  Granville's  Bastion  guarded  the  broad 
sweep  made  by  the  bold  curve  of  the  Cooper  River ; 
Carteret's  menaced  beyond  the  drawbridge  where 
the  town  began  to  lose  itself  in  swamp  and  forest; 
Colleton's  held  the  southwest  corner  overlooking  jun- 
gles of  palmetto  and  myrtle ;  the  Half  Moon  Works 
upon  the  Cooper  circled  in  front  of  the  Court  of 
Guard;  Craven's  Bastion,  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  wall,  completed  the  eastern  line  of  fortifications ; 
and  where  the  ragged  palisades  bristled  bravely  be- 
hind the  more  exposed  batteries,  Ashley's  redoubtable 
guns  completed  the  defenses.  To  the  northward  a 
long,  irregular  line  of  horn  works  and  redoubts  that 
,set  grim  teeth  against  the  green  fringes  of  the  forest, 
wherein  night  prowlers  ranged  hungrily,  mingling 
their  raucous  cries  with  the  vague  night-voices  of 
the  town. 

Always  somewhere  in  those  primeval  fastnesses 
lurked  stealthy- footed  savages,  keen-scented,  alert, 
detecting  with  prescience  mysterious,  the  slightest 
negligence  of  guard,  falling  upon  the  unprotected, 
scalping,  burning,  blazing  their  trail  with  murder 
and  outrage. 

Hard  beset  had  been  the  Province ;  tomahawk  and 
black  flag  kept  them  in  constant  malease.  Two  In- 
dian wars,  in  1712  and  1715,  had  drained  the  last  re- 
sources of  arms  and  exchequer.  Vane  had  been 
a-pyrating  upon  their  coast,  destroying,  burning,  ter- 
rorizing. 


12  The   Carolinians 

Harassed  by  land  and  threatened  by  sea  stood  the 
struggling  Colony. 

English  gentlemen,  English  adventurers,  English 
outlaws,  Dutch  skippers,  Dutch  colonists  from  New 
Amsterdam,  French  refugees  for  the  faith's  sake. 
French  artizans  and  French  vine-dressers,  rebellious 
Highlanders,  French  Redemptionists,  Irish  emi- 
grants, Quakers,  Dissenters,  Cavaliers,  Roundheads, 
stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  stern  fight  to  main- 
tain a  foothold  and  build  up  a  home  upon  this  fruitful 
coast. 

Tried  to  the  utmost  stood  they  now.  Disaster  fol- 
lowed disaster.  Political  and  civil  discord  seethed 
also  among  them,  but  to  break  out  into  open  feud 
when  outside  pressure  should  be  less  strenuous.  Ar- 
rogant Churchmen  denied  to  Dissenter  the  rights  of 
office  and  representation,  the  measures  of  the  Lords 
Proprietors  were  vastly  distasteful,  unredeemed  cur- 
rency flooded  the  land. 

Even  now  while  Mistress  Damaris  Johnson  idled 
in  the  sunshine,  decking  herself  vaingloriously  with 
pomegranate  blossoms,  Captain  Maynard,  who  had 
been  gaining  for  himself,  in  fighting  with  the  Yam- 
assees,  more  honors  and  hardships  than  ordinarily 
fall  to  the  lot  of  twenty-five,  was  closeted  with  the 
Governor  in  council  official. 

Governor  Johnson  leaned  heavily  upon  his  elbow 
among  the  papers  and  documents  that  littered  the 
table.  Before  him  was  spread  a  roughly-draughted 
map  of  the  Province.  Now  he  gazed  upon  it  fixedly, 
anon  he  looked  out  of  the  window  seawards  where 
some  half-dozen  sails  showed  faint  against  the  hori- 
zon. 


Hopes  13 

"Then,  and  I  understand  you  aright,  Captain  May- 
nard,  you  would  advise  that  a  force  be  sent  against 
the  Indians  about  Stono?  How  agrees  that  with 
our  lately-signed  treaty  of  peace  ?  Speaks  thus  pro- 
vincial honor  ?" 

"Not  honor,  but  necessity,  in  savage  warfare. 
"Their  treaty  of  peace  is  but  a  lying  subterfuge,  under 
the  cover  of  which  they  take  advantage  of  our  credul- 
ity. A  blacker-hearted  traitor  than  Sanute  never  drew 
bow.  To  gain  time  he  speaks  of  peace.  He  has  not 
forgotten  the  thrashing  we  gave  him  and  his  braves. 
Only  blood  wipes  blood  from  an  Indian's  memory. 
It  is  a  scalp  for  a  scalp,  a  life  for  a  life.  Sanute 
smokes  the  calumet  in  our  sight,  through  the  forest 
his  swift  runners  go,  from  tribe  to  tribe  passes  the 
rattlesnake  quiver.  Some  tribes  we  have  crushed, 
some  have  eluded  us,  some  are  decimated  by  small- 
pox, some  have  signed  the  treaty  of  friendship.  A 
tinker's  dam  for  their  friendship — it  lives  as  long 
as  their  interest,  but  their  revenge  lives  forever !  A 
general  uprising  of  the  strong  would  number  our 
treacherous  allies  among  them.  There  is  division 
among  them  now ;  tribal  war  rages.  With  one 
strong  movement,  promptly  executed,  we  could  crush 
them  utterly,  drive  them  from  our  midst,  and  secure 
the  safety  of  our  harassed  borders.  Shall  we  allow 
this  opportunity  to  pass,  your  Excellency  ?  Shall  we 
sit  us  down  in  slothful  ease  while  a  thousand  out- 
rages call  for  redress  ?"  pleaded  the  young  man  ve- 
hemently. 

"And  whence  shall  come  a  fresh  force  ?"  demanded 
the  Governor  sharply.  "Can  we  raise  up  those  who 
sleep?  Will  the  forest  give  up  its  dead?  Can  we 


14  The  Carolinians 

make  good  with  gold  the  paper  we  have  stamped? 
Will  the  Lords  Proprietors  uphold  and  strengthen 
us  ?  No,  I  say  unto  you,  Captain  Maynard,  that  it 
cannot  be!  Of  the  company  who  went  forth  with 
you,  you  have  brought  back  a  handful.  Out  in  the 
forest  many  a  goodly  Englishman  lies  rotting  with 
a  poisoned  arrow  in  his  breast.  You  stamp  out  one 
tribe,  another  takes  its  place.  Only  with  time  can  be 
strengthened  our  borders.  We  must  suffer  to  be 
harried,  we  must  endure  while  our  men  are  scalped, 
while  violent  hands  are  laid  upon  our  women.  We 
are  a  little  people,  weak  and  of  few  resources,  planted 
in  the  midst  of  a  great  land,  hard  beset  with  enemies. 
For  this  present  we  cannot  conquer ;  we  must  endure. 
But,  and  it  please  God,  and  He  gives  us  strength,  we 
will  hold  our  own.  Aye,  I  say  unto  you,  though 
England  forget  her  foster-child,  though  the  powers 
of  hell  are  leagued  against  us,  we  will  hold  our  own !" 

After  this  unwonted  outburst,  in  a  voice  that  rang 
with  determination,  the  Governor  leaned  back  in  his 
chair  in  tense  silence.  He  was  a  grave  man,  a  man 
little  given  to  vain  speech;  when  he  spoke  others 
listened. 

The  lines  of  his  face  were  leonine;  brows  that 
sloped  downward  from  a  broad,  low  forehead ;  down- 
trending  lines  about  the  eyes,  nose  and  mouth,  giving 
to  it  a  look  of  grim  purpose.  In  his  eyes,  somewhat 
narrowed  by  the  down-drawn  lids,  that  look  of  in- 
scrutable knowledge  and  power  that  one  sees  in  the 
eyes  of  a  quiescent  lion.  His  face  was  of  that  rare 
whiteness  that  goes  sometimes  with  fine  health  and 
great  forcefulness  of  character.  He  wore  a  full-bot- 
tomed periwig,  a  suit  of  grey  French  cloth,  with  fac- 


Hopes  15 

ings  of  white  and  silver,  save  upon  occasions  of  high 
ceremonial. 

He  was  revered  because  of  his  wisdom,  feared  be- 
cause of  his  justice,  admired  because  of  his  courage, 
loved  as  one  loves  the  high,  not  as  one  loves  his  inti- 
mates, and  thus  he  lived  his  private  life  somewhat 
apart  from  his  fellow  man. 

The  younger  man,  who  had  also  grown  to  be  a 
part  of  the  overpowering  silence,  felt  the  finality  of 
his  decision.  To  some  men  it  is  given  to  be  wise, 
even  in  youth,  where  women  are  not  concerned.  Al- 
though the  Governor  hatf  declared  against  him  he  felt 
the.  wisdom  of  the  decision.  To  some  young  men  it 
is  also  permitted  to  be  reasonable  when  a  greater  than 
they  argue  the  case.  Furthermore,  there  were  rea- 
sons, non-politic,  why  it  behooved  this  young  man 
to  be  at  peace  with  the  Governor.  His  only  remon- 
strance was  an  occasional  uneasy  shifting  in  his  chair 
during  the  protracted  silence.  His  defeat  went  hard 
with  him,  nevertheless,  for  his  plans  were  brain  of 
his  brain,  heart  of  his  heart. 

He  was  a  strong  man,  tensely  modelled,  not  a  slack 
muscle  in  his  six  feet  of  vigorous  humanity;  warm 
and  warmly  alive  with  the  virile  coloring  that  comes 
from  daily  contact  with  nature  and  aboriginal  condi- 
tions. As  the  blood  of  the  red-deer,  the  vivid  life 
that  pulsed  through  his  veins.  English  born  and 
bred,  the  older  man  was  the  product  of  many  genera- 
tions of  mental  and  moral  force  delicately  adjusted  to 
the  physical.  Born  in  a  primeval  country,  under  the 
stress  of  a  travailing  civilization,  in  the  younger  man 
the  physical  was  forced  into  temporary  prominence ; 


16  The  Carolinians 

the  mental  and  the  moral,  the  powers  behind  the 
throne. 

With  the  older  man,  fighting  was  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation;  with  the  younger,  the  power  that 
delights  to  do  and  to  dare  and  to  conquer. 

And  were  not  worlds  awaiting  conquest  ?  Worlds 
beyond  the  war-cry  of  savage  and  tomahawk  and  car- 
nage? And  thinking  upon  one  of  these  worlds  he 
grew  restless  and  broke  the  silence. 

"If  your  Excellency  has  no  further  need  of  me  T 
would  pray  to  be  excused." 

"Certainly,  at  your  pleasure.  Will  you  be  return- 
ing straightway  home  ?" 

"Not  directly.  From  hence,  with  your  Excel- 
lency's permission,  I  go  into  your  garden." 

"Damans  ?"  asked  the  Governor  laconically. 

"Damaris !"  repeated  the  young  man  bravely. 

"A  fair  field  and  a  free  lance.  Good  fortune  at- 
tend you!"  The  Governor  spoke  lightly,  smiled 
wisely,  and  bowed  formally. 

The  younger  man  returned  the  salutation  in  silent 
embarrassment,  then  the  Governor  stepped  forward 
with  outstretched  hand  and  took  into  the  firm  pres- 
sure of  his  strong,  cool  fingers  the  brown  hand  with 
its  quickened  pulse. 

"Thank  you ;  your  Excellency  is  very  kind,"  spoke 
the  young  man  hoarsely,  and  with  head  uplifted 
walked  swiftly  from  the  room. 

Alone,  the  Governor  resumed  his  seat. 

"Damaris,"  he  spoke  softly  to  himself;  "Damaris," 
and  a  smile  softened  his  face.  "Damaris  has  a  harder 
heart  than  her  father,  young  man ;  there  'twill  be  war 
to  the  knife.  She  is  as  pleased  with  your  scalp  as 


Hopes  17 

you  are  with  the  redman's,  but  as  to  loving  you,  I 
fear  me  she  knows  not  how.  She  is  a  playful  lassie 
and  troubles  herself  not  with  her  lovers'  heartaches. 
Would  that  he  were  my  son !"  The  Governor  sighed 
deeply.  "So  goes  a  brave  man  forth  to  defeat,  nor 
can  any  stay  him.  Well,  it  is  the  world's  way,  and 
the  courage  of  youth,  and  being  a  fool,  and  not  know-- 
ing it.  Being  a  fool  is  not  bad.  Finding  it  out  is 
very  bad!  Well,  well;  let  Damaris  be!  Now  for 
the  letters  to  my  Lords  Proprietors  of  short  and  un- 
certain memory.  The  packet  leaves  to-morrow.  Un- 
der Providence,  pirates,  and  the  forgetfulness  of  our 
masters,  we  may  look  for  an  answer  within  the  year. 
Would  God  they  stood  where  I  stand,  then  would 
matters  be  otherwise.  As  it  is,  they  do  not  know 
and  do  not  see  the  straits  in  which  we  are  placed. 
Some  say  they  will  not  see.  May  their  eyes  be  speed- 
•ily  opened,  lest  we  perish.  I  know  and  I  see,  yet 
stand  I  here  with  hands  tied,  a  sorry  enough  figure- 
head, truly,  in  this  turbulent  Province.  The  foul 
fiend  fly  away  with  a  man  who  is  a  figurehead,  I  say ! 
One  who  runs  his  head  into  the  noose  swung  for  an- 
other plays  but  a  beggarly  part  in  a  right  unmerry 
game.  And  yet — "  there  was  a  long  silence,  and 
when  the  Governor  finished  his  sentence  he  smiled 
sadly  and  spoke  but  two  words — "  'Noblesse 
oblige' !" 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  PROMISE  OF  SUMMER 

'My  love  is  fair,  my  love  is  gay, 
As  fresh  as  bin  the  flowers  in  May.' 


leorge  Peele. 


Captain  Maynard  strode  out  into  the  sunshine  with 
head  erect  and  shining  eyes.  That  pressure  of  the 
Governor's  hand  had  made  him  a  taller  man.  The 
unerring  instinct  of  the  woodsman  led  him  straitly 
to  his  quarry.  Damaris  stood  under  a  magnolia,  the 
sifted  sunshine  making  a  green  and  gold  fretwork 
above  her  head,  under  her  feet,  and  all  about  her. 
The  soft,  creamy  gown  shone  with  the  shifting  opal- 
escent lights,  and  scarlet  pomegranate  blossoms 
flamed  warmly  in  her  fair  hair  and  against  her  cool 
throat. 

"Damaris,  I  have  come,"  spoke  the  young  man 
gladly,  reaching  out  his  arms  toward  her. 

"  'I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered !'  "  laughed  the  girl, 
holding  her  pomegranate  branch,  sword-like,  in 
mock-heroic  pose. 

"Such  is  a  right  pretty  message  from  lady's  lips, 
Mistress  Damaris,  and  I  will  proceed  to  take  the 
spoils  of  conquest,"  answered  the  young  man  boldly. 

"All  conquests  are  not  so  easy  as  the  aborigines, 
and  some  spoils  are  vexation  of  spirit !"  mocked  the 
girl,  but  there  was  that  in  her  pose  that  stayed  the 


The  Promise  of  Summer  19 

Captain's  daring.  The  white  face  might  belong  to  a 
creature  immaterial,  but  the  eyes  to  an  avenging  an- 
gel, the  red  lips  to  a  woman. 

For  a  space  they  measured  each  other  with  out- 
ward calm,  though  the  pulses  of  both  beat  at  life's 
fever  heat.  There  was  that  in  the  girl's  face  that 
suggested  the  Governor;  there  was  the  same  calm 
whiteness  of  the  mental  and  moral  well-adjusted,  the 
same  suggestion  of  possible  tenseness  in  the  lines. 
Life  had  keyed  the  Governor's  face  to  the  strenuous 
march  of  the  world  epic;  as  yet  the  girl's  face  was 
attuned  to  the  music  of  youth's  unheeding  paradise. 

Captain  Maynard,  brown  and  lusty,  and  strong  in 
the  consciousness  of  man's  inalienable  right  to  rule 
the  world,  looked  undaunted  into  her  eyes.  How 
often  in  the  heart  of  the  mysterious  forest,  while 
death  lurked  but  an  arm's  breadth  away,  had  he  lain 
in  his  blanket,  his  hand  on  his  musket,  gazing  up 
through  the  ebony  fringes  of  the  pines  at  the  sky  all 
ashine  with  the  tender  moonlight,  and  likened  it  to 
Damaris's  eyes,  and  the  forest  had  seemed  no  longer 
desolate,  but  beautiful  with  a  presence  that  could  not 
be  blotted  out  by  the  death-breeding  shadows. 

Although  her  eyes  dared  and  her  lips  mocked, 
Damaris  took  good  heed  of  the  stalwart  soldier  be- 
fore her;  she  rejoiced  in  strength  and  daring,  as  do 
all  women.  Seeing  that  he  would  not  break  the  si- 
lence, and  feeling  something  warmer  than  the  Gov- 
ernor's blood  quickening  under  his  gaze,  she  asked 
mockingly : 

"Dost  like  the  enemy's  front?" 

"That  I  do,  right  heartily.  Truly  I  like  it  so  well 
that,  by  your  leave,  I  would  have  it  for  my  own !" 


20  The  Carolinians 

"Right  bold  you  have  grown  among  your  savages, 
Captain  Maynard.  You  need  to  meet  a  worthier  foe." 

"And  so  I  have,  Mistress  Damaris;  but,  by  your 
leave,  I  would  bespeak  a  truce." 

"Times  of  peace  become  you  not;  you  were  ever 
readier  with  your  sword  than  with  your  tongue." 

"Then,  since  you  are  the  readier  with  your  speech, 
it  would  well  become  you  to  teach  me  to  be  a  worth- 
ier foe." 

"Nay,  not  so;  my  only  weapon  is  my  woman's 
wit ;  it  were  unwise  to  arm  one's  foes." 

"To  arm  one's  lovers  were  a  prettier  usage." 

"Courtesy  were  a  prettier  usage  still.  Your  man- 
ners have  not  gained  through  long  tarrying  in  wig- 
wams !"  she  answered  hotly. 

"Tis  my  love  that  has  gained,  and  in  one  heart 
there  is  not  room  for  love  and  measured  manners." 

"And  in  this  garden  there  is  not  room  for  you  and 
me!" 

"Think  you  so  ?  Methinks  in  paradise  there  were 
always  room,  but  were  we  one  'twould  save  further 
parley." 

"Since  oil  and  water  never  mix,  that  were  impos- 
sible!" 

"Even  so,  Mistress  Damaris ;  but  love  and  love  do 
mix  so  sweetly  and  so  strongly  that  heaven  cannot 
set  them  asunder." 

"When  in  heaven  you  have  found  this  to  be  truly 
so,  come  back  to  me — then  will  I  give  fair  heed ; 
hearsay  evidence  convinces  not." 

"Without  you  it  were  not  heaven,  Mistress  Da- 
maris. Were  you  there  I  should  not  need  to  return." 

"Only  angels  enter  there," 


The  Promise  of  Summer  21 

"Then  fear  I  that  Mistress  Damaris  cannot  enter, 
so  would  I  liefer  remain  upon  earth." 

"The  half-way  ground  of  earth  will  have  passed 
away." 

"Well,  with  you  there  could  be  no  hell  for  me." 

"There  you  would  have  the  advantage  of  me." 

"Not  so ;  we  could  meet  upon  equal  ground." 

"You  flatter  yourself.  Even  among  devils  I  would 
be  chief!" 

"That  I  do  not  question." 

"What  mean  you  ?" 

"No  more  than  this,  that  in  whatsoever  sphere  we 
found  ourselves — celestial,  terrestrial,  or  debatable — 
there  would  you  be  greatly  first." 

"A  most  sorry  recantation." 

"Not  recantation,  but  declaration." 

"A  questionable  declaration." 

"Then  will  I  make  it  beyond  dispute,  Mistress 
Damaris." 

"Upon  a  man's  word,  impossible !" 

"That  remains  to  be  proven  by  a  woman's." 

"With  false  premises  a  woman  holds  no  com- 
merce." 

"Then,  by  my  faith,  so  will  I  make  my  premises 
so  strong  with  love  that  they  need  no  proving !" 

"Words  are  idle." 

"Actions  are  real !"  There  was  a  tone  in  his  voice 
and  a  look  in  his  eyes  that  made  Mistress  Damaris 
somewhat  uneasy,  for  all  her  fine  disdain. 

"Nay,  I  would  spare  you  the  trouble  of  both  words 
and  deeds !"  she  spoke  quickly. 

"'Twere  no  trouble,  but  a  pleasure,  I  do  assure 
you!" 


22  The  Carolinians 

"Then  'twere  equally  agreeable  to  deny  you  the 
pleasure." 

"Nay,  not  so  fast,,  nor  so  out  of  hand,  Mistress 
Damaris.  You  are  past-mistress  of  word-play,  and 
it  is  all  vastly  fine ;  but  I  am  not  a  man  of  straw  to  be 
blown  aside  with  a  breath,  and  when  a  man  is  athirst 
for  love,  words  are  as  dry  leaves  in  his  throat.  There 
is  a  time  for  all  things,  a  time  to  love  and  a  time  to 
play  at  love;  my  playtime  is  past;  I  want  the  sub- 
stance, not  the  shadow.  No  more  parrying.  Nay, 
do  not  run,  it  isn't  soldierly;  besides,  catch  you  I 
would  in  two  strides,  and  hold  you  I  would,  flouted 
you  never  so  roundly!  Three  months  ago  I  stood 
here  in  this  garden  with  you.  The  flowers  were 
icicles  then,  but  the  thaw  seemed  to  begin  in  your 
heart.  Wait,  you  said — wait.  One  swallow  does 
not  make  much  of  a  spring,  but  it  seemed  almost 
summer  to  me  then.  Three  months,  with  my  life  in 
my  hands  and  my  love  in  my  heart,  have  passed 
since  then.  Through  forest  and  flood  the  hope  has 
stayed  with  me;  in  hunger  and  in  battle  it  has  not 
departed  from  me.  To-day  the  world  is  glad  with 
the  promise  of  spring,  Damaris ;  have  you  no  prom- 
ise for  me?" 

"The  spring's  promise  is  but  a  fickle  promise,  so 
many  things  may  chance,"  spoke  the  girl  softly. 
"The  summer's  promise  were  the  surer  pledge,  and 
in  the  autumn  conies  harvest !" 

"Are  you  playing  with  me,  Damaris?"  he  asked 
sternly. 

"That  I  do  not  know.  I  wish  that  I  did,"  she 
answered  hesitatingly. 

"Tell  me  what  your  heart  says." 


The  Promise  of  Summer  23 

"One  moment  it  tells  me  yea,  the  next  nay." 

"It  is  not  your  wont  to  dally  thus." 

"It  is  not  my  wont  to  give  myself  away." 

"Nor  would  I  have  it  so,  but  just  this  once,  Sweet- 
heart !" 

"I  cannot." 

"Speak  you  earnestly,  Damaris?" 

"How  can  I  really  tell?  What  I  really  think, 
what  I  really  feel  are  as  a  sealed  casket  to  me.  It 
would  be  a  sore  trouble  to  break  the  seal,  and  were  I 
to  do  so  methinks  I  would  be  sorry  all  the  days  of 
my  life,  because  to  learn  about  one's  real  self  means 
to  learn  to  suffer." 

"Damaris,  Damaris !  Unto  a  man  it  is  not  given 
to  understand  you !  Why  make  a  mystery  of  love  ? 
To  me  it  is  the  plainest  fact  in  my  life.  To  me  it  is 
the  one  thing  in  the  world  that  I  know  beyond  ques- 
tion !"  he  spoke  vehemently. 

"And  to  me  it  is  the  one  thing  in  the  world  I  do 
not  know." 

"Will  you  ever  come  to  know  ?" 

"How  can  I  say?  We  watch  the  blossoms,  but 
who  can  tell  which  will  bring  forth  fruit  in  due  sea- 
son? There  are  so  many  things,'  frost  and  wind — 
and  other  hands." 

"Are  there  other  hands  trying  to  reach  my  fruit. 
Damaris  ?" 

"Mayhap !  You  have  been  long  away,  and  you  set 
no  hedge  about  your  vineyard." 

"Counted  your  promise  as  no  hedge?" 

"Thieves  break  through  and  steal." 

"Unless  the  watchman  consent  to  the  theft,  it  can- 
not be." 


24  The  Carolinians 

"What,  and  the  watch  be  overpowered  ?" 

"He  should  not  live  to  tell  the  tale !" 

"The  master  should  have  set  a  surer  watch." 

"Were  he  the  master,  so  would  he.  Hark  ye, 
Damaris,  I  am  over-weary  of  idle  words.  Tell  me 
truly  if  there  be  another?" 

Captain  Maynard  spoke  as  one  in  authority;  his 
blue-black  eyes,  that  came  with  his  quick  temper 
from  his  Irish  grandmother,  looked  straight  into 
Damaris's  baffling  grey  ones,  and  she  dropped  them 
straightway  and  fell  to  tracing  figures  in  the  sand 
with  the  point  of  her  high-heeled  shoe.  Captain 
Maynard  was  abject  enough  to  wish  that  he  were 
the  brilliant  buckle  upon  that  self-same  shoe,  but  he 
kept  his  eyes  hard,  nevertheless. 

Meanwhile,  Damaris  wished  that  she  had  been 
born  a  liar.  Maynard  had  deprived  her  of  her 
accustomed  weapons  and  she  was  skilled  in  the  use 
of  no  other.  Perhaps  to  the  most  honest  the  tempta- 
tion comes  to  speak  falsely,  at  least  one  time  in  life. 
Perhaps,  like  Damaris,  they  are  restrained,  not  from 
fear  of  doing  it,  but  from  fear  of  doing  it  badly. 
Furthermore,  to  tell  a  falsehood  is  one  thing,  to  sus- 
tain it  quite  another.  Damaris  was  standing  upon 
quaking  ground — she  could  not  go  back  and  she 
dared  not  go  forward.  She  might  have  subverted 
her  moral  sense  to  the  point  of  telling  a  falsehood, 
but  she  knew  that  her  mental  would  betray  her. 
That  delicate  adjustment  that  she  had  inherited  from 
the  Governor  defeated  her,  as  it  has  many  an  upright 
man  when  the  shifty  have  won  tarnished  laurels. 

Captain  Maynard  was  waiting  with  a  patience 
more  than  reasonably  manly.  Perhaps  his  forbear- 


The  Promise  of  Summer  25 

ance  might  have  been  less  commendable  had  she  been 
less  good  to  look  upon.  As  it  was,  she  was  a  feast 
for  his  eyes — from  her  ruffled  hair  to  her  restless 
slipper  point,  being  most  harmoniously  as  well  as 
beautifully  made.  He  chafed  inwardly  over  the 
situation  and  felt  a  strong  temptation  to  bear  her  off 
like  a  Sabine  brave  and  thus  free  the  situation  of  its 
complications.  He  was  a  man  little  given  to  specu- 
lation, and  with  the  cocksureness  that  comes  with 
youth,  success  and  a  good  digestion,  he  was  quick  to 
decide,  quick  to  act,  no  intangible  soul-webs  hanging 
between  him  and  his  decisions.  However,  he  had 
now  reached  the  limit  of  natural  law,  a  woman,  the 
unsolved  connecting  link  between  the  material  and 
the  immaterial;  and  thus  thrown  out  of  his  reckon- 
ing, he  found  himself  falling  back  upon  the  wisdom 
of  serpents,  which  is  largely  composed  of  silence. 
But  even  the  wisdom  of  serpents  cannot  long  domi- 
nate the  impatient  heart  of  a  man  who  half-way 
suspects  that  a  woman  loves  him,  and  that  woman 
in  the  reach  of  his  inquisitorial  power.  So,  while 
Mistress  Damaris  devoted  herself  harmlessly  to 
angles  and  parallels  and  triangles  in  the  sand,  he 
repeated  his  unanswered  question  writh  renewed 
harshness. 

"Is  there  another  ?" 

"There  is  no  other,"  she  answered  dispassionately, 
and  continued  her  terrestrial  decoration  with  pro- 
voking calm. 

"Then  will  we  wait  for  the  promise  of  summer, 
Sweetheart?  God  grant  that  it  fail  not!"  There 
was  a  gladness  in  the  young  Captain's  voice  like  a 
song  of  the  waters  when  the  ice  is  broken  and  they 


26  The  Carolinians 

rush  forth  upon  their  way  rejoicing.  He  moved 
toward  her,  all  his  virile  manhood  ablaze  in  his  face. 
She  fell  back  from  him  swiftly.  He  frowned  darkly 
and  stiffened  his  arms  to  his  side. 

"You  need  have  no  fear;  I  want  no  forbidden 
fruits." 

"Not  forbidden,  but  unripe,"  she  answered  with 
a  smile. 

"Just  one  little  token,  one  little  seal  upon  the 
promise  of  summer,  Sweetheart;  one  little  token  of 
summer's  largesse,"  he  pleaded. 

She  looked  at  one  white  hand,  then  at  the  other. 

"Which  shall  be  the  traitor,  I  wonder  ?"  she  spoke 
ruefully. 

"Nay,  not  traitor,  but  peacemaker,"  he  answered 
gently. 

"Only  one  little  token,  and  that  with  discretion," 
she  said  very  low. 

He  lifted  the  hand  with  its  crimson  lading  of 
blossom — she  had  slipped  the  other  under  her 
kerchief — and  pressed  his  lips  upon  it. 

To  him  the  fullness  of  summer  seemed  to  have 
come,  while  indeed  he  but  gathered  the  violets  upon 
the  edge  of  the  snow. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    TRAIL   OF    THE    SERPENT 

"Sweet   looks   show   love,   yet   they  are   but   as   beams; 
Fair  words  seem  true,  yet  they  are  but  as  wind." 

— Anon. 

A  week  had  elapsed  since  that  momentous  April 
morning  when  Damaris  had  held  her  own  so  hardly 
with  the  doughty  colonial  Captain.  When  a  woman 
is  in  love  her  tongue  is  at  its  worst ;  she  is  hampered 
by  the  fear  of  revealing  what  she  would  prefer  con- 
cealing ;  but  when  a  man  is  in  love  he  puts  his  trust 
in  the  weapon  of  speech  and  so  his  words  are  as  the 
sword  of  Gideon. 

Each  morning  had  found  the  Captain  closeted 
with  the  Governor  in  council  official,  but  the  halo  of 
glory  that  he  had  hoped  to  wrench  from  savage 
brows  had  paled  beside  the  light  that  dwelt  in 
beauty's  eyes.  The  half  hour  passed  with  the 
Governor  seemed  immeasurably  long;  the  several 
odd  hours  passed  in  the  garden  with  the  Governor's 
daughter  immeasurably  short. 

To  Captain  Maynard  it  seemed  that  the  promise 
of  summer  had  come  before  the  swelling  of  pome- 
granate buds  into  jewelled  fruit. 

Damaris  was  all  things  gracious  and  divine.  She 
had  laid  her  weapons  by;  it  was  a  time  of  peace. 
The  human  instincts  of  the  Captain  expanded  in  the 


28  The  Carolinians 

fervor  of  love's  tropic.  There  was  a  rumor  of 
pirates  in  Okericock  Inlet  and  among  the  waste 
islands  that  girt  the  bay,  but  the  soul  of  the  Captain 
was  at  peace  with  the  world ;  he  would  have  shaken 
hands  with  Black  Beard  and  broken  bread  with 
Vane ;  he  had  beaten  his  sword  into  a  Cupid's  bow. 
He  whistled  back  to  a  red-bird  that  whistled  to  its 
mate,  and  pitied  him  because  whistling  seemed  such 
a  limited  medium  of  courtship. 

His  attire  had  kept  pace  with  the  gaiety  of  his 
mood,  though  to  women  are  solely  accredited  such 
vanities.  Scarlet  ribbons  fluttered  from  his  knees 
as  he  strode  along  under  the  glistening-roofed 
magnolias.  Scarlet,  vivid  as  her  own  personality, 
was  Damaris's  color — not  peach  color,  nor  azure,  nor 
mauve,  the  delicate  tints  of  languid  women  or 
fashion. 

Suddenly,  with  the  instinct  born  of  woodcraft,  the 
Captain  paused.  There  was  a  new  voice  in  the 
garden  this  morning — not  the  voice  of  bird  or 
goddess  or  flower.  The  Captain  recognized  the 
voice,  ground  his  heel  into  the  gravel  and  turned 
right-about.  With  reflection  came  wisdom.  The 
instinct  of  a  man  is  to  fight  for  his  own,  so  he  turned 
again  and  proceeded  toward  the  voice,  but  his  face 
was  no  longer  the  face  of  a  man  at  peace  with  the 
world. 

Damaris  leaned  back  idly  in  a  chair  of  wrought 
iron  from  Nuremberg.  Some  neglected  woman's 
work  lay  all  a-tangle  in  her  lap,  and  already  a  thrifty 
nest-building  wren  had  flown  away  with  some  silken 
strands,  wind-blown  into  an  azalea. 


The  Trail  of  the  Serpent  29 

Upon  a  bench  opposite  sat  a  man  good  to  behold. 
Stalwart  English  in  every  line  of  face  and  form,  of 
goodly  attire  too ;  a  man  bred  to  courts,  and  sitting 
easy  to  the  ways  of  the  world  that  man  makes  for 
himself  within  the  devious  coils  of  wealth  and 
fashion;  a  flavor  of  the  Old  World  in  gesture  and 
speech,  a  flavor  of  something  warmer  in  the  eyes  that 
dwelt  upon  Mistress  Damaris. 

In  truth  it  was  Mr.  Francis  Yonge,  English 
cavalier  and  gentleman  of  no  mean  ability;  a  most 
honorable  member  of  the  Colonial  Council,  Deputy 
of  my  Lord  Carteret,  Surveyor-General  of  the 
Province ;  a  man  of  much  weight  in  the  Colony,  of 
large  fortune  and  of  good  report,  despite  a  wild 
humor  and  adventurous  fancy,  and  as  such  no  mean 
rival  for  a  provincial  captain,  killed  he  Indians  never 
so  bravely. 

The  two  men  greeted  each  other  with  the  pre- 
scribed courtesy  and  the  unprescribed  measuring  of 
each  other's  prospects.  Upon  the  face  of  Mistress 
Damaris  was  a  smile  unholy,  something  of  the  look 
the  sighing  King  Francis  wore  when  he  found  sport 
in  his  lions. 

"Captain  Maynard  will  pardon  me  that  I  did  not 
recognize  him  the  more  quickly,"  spoke  Mr.  Yonge, 
with  a  fine  affectation  of  concern.  "In  truth,  I  saw 
no  scalps,  no  strings  of  wampum,  no  calumet,  so  I 
hesitated  before  greeting  the  great  Indian  Captain." 

"Are  scalps  necessary  to  proclaim  the  conqueror?" 
asked  Damaris  innocently. 

"Indeed,  I  so  believed  them  to  be,"  answered  Mr. 
Yonge. 


30  The  Carolinians 

"Then  hie  you  straightway  back  to  London  Town 
and  gather  yours,  Mr.  Yonge — the  blonde  and  the 
brunette  and  the  powdered  that  have  strewn  your 
way  from  Spring  Gardens  to  St.  James — else  your 
glory  is  unsung.  Perchance  some  of  Ophelia's  may 
float  in  the  Pump  Room  still." 

"Be  not  cruel,  Mistress  Damaris;  mock  not  a 
brother's  woe!  'Twere  easy  to  gather  your  spoils. 
Truly,  you  might  scalp  the  most  honorable  Council 
of  Charles  Town  with  one  fell  blow.  Here  are  two 
that  but  wait  to  be  attached  to  your  girdle — one  the 
right  honorable  ornament  of  a  right  doughty  Pro- 
vincial, that  has  escaped  the  tomahawks  of  forty 
tribes ;  the  other  a  goodly  English  one,  that  has  cost 
its  owner  many  a  guinea  in  powders  and  friseurs." 

"And  could  ill  be  spared,  since  'tis  the  covering  of 
ideas  less  valuable!"  retorted  Captain  Maynard. 

"So  it  cover  not  a  sorry  wit,  the  damage  were  the 
less.  By  my  troth,  'twere  a  kindly  Navassa  that, 
relenting,  left  yours,"  replied  Mr.  Yonge. 

'  'Twere  a  mercy  for  you  both  that  scalping  does 
not  expose  hearts,"  interposed  Mistress  Damaris, 
"else  would  the  discredit  be  the  greater  for  you  both, 
so  discovering  your  vacancy." 

"Indeed,  you  speak  truly,  since  Mistress  Damaris 
hath  stolen  them  both,"  replied  Mr.  Yonge  sweetly. 

"Nay,  not  so,"  answered  Damaris,  "seeing  I  hold 
no  commerce  with  second-handed  wares.  But  look 
you,  Mr.  Yonge,  you  need  but  inquire  at  the  Three 
Balls  of  some  woman  of  fashion  and  there  will  you 
find  that  yours  lies  in  pawn  for  some  second-rate 
compliment." 


The  Trail  of  the  Serpent  31 

"Nay,  Mistress  Damaris,  beshrew  me!  but  in  all 
your  life  you  have  never  given  your  servant  so  much 
as  a  second-rate  compliment,  else  might  I  esteem 
myself  fairly  repaid,  seeing  that  my  heart  is  not 
mine,  but  a  most  unworthy  vessel  filled  with 
yourself." 

"Nay,  you  do  arrogate  too  much  to  yourself  when 
you  affirm  that  I  would  tarry  there  even  in  passing." 

"  'Twould  only  be  in  passing,  Mistress  Damaris. 
None  would  so  hazard  his  word  as  to  declare  that 
you  would  tarry  with  constancy  anywhere." 

"One  makes  not  dwellings  upon  unstable  founda- 
tions, Mr.  Yonge ;  'twould  be  the  house  builded  upon 
sand." 

"Nay,  'twould  be  the  moonbeam  resting  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  lake.  To-morrow  the  lake  knows  full 
well  that  'twill  be  gone,  but  it  has  lived  the  hour  for 
which  it  was  made;  for  the  rest  'tis  a  waste  of 
waters,"  he  murmured. 

"Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel,"  laughed 
Damaris. 

"Say  you  so  truly?"  he  asked  in  a  tone  that  might 
have  been  jest,  might  have  been  earnest. 

Damaris  laughed  uneasily.  There  were  two  pairs 
of  eyes  fixed  upon  her — those  of  Mr.  Yonge,  fervid 
for  all  his  raillery;  those  of  Captain  Maynard  con- 
suming her  with  wrath  unquenchable. 

"How  can  a  woman  speak  of  so  great  matter  as 
water?"  she  answered  lightly.  "With  time  and 
perseverance  'tis  said  to  have  worn  away  the  rocks 
primeval.  Woman  is  but  a  tender  creature,  of  easy 
complaisance  and  ready  fancy — how  may  she  hope  to 
withstand  ?" 


32  The   Carolinians 

Mr.  Yonge  leaned  over,  and  under  pretense  of 
gathering  up  a  falling  tangle  of  silk  let  his  fingers 
fall  lightly  upon  hers. 

Captain  Maynard,  lynx-eyed,  stiff  with  anger, 
tongue-tied  with  indignation,  sprang  to  his  feet. 

Damaris  lifted  her  eyes  with  slow  insouciance,  but 
in  the  throwing  back  of  her  head  there  was  a  warn- 
ing of  danger. 

"Captain  Maynard,  I  beg  of  you  to  gather  up  my 
silks.  My  careless  fingers  set  them  all  a-tangle 
to-day,  and  the  gallant  Mr.  Yonge,  from  London 
Town,  has  been  so  blinded  by  beauty  that  he  cannot 
distinguish  between  my  fingers  and  the  silks,"  she 
spoke  sweetly. 

"Thank  you,  Mistress  Damaris,"  answered  the 
Captain  testily ;  "but  of  woman  and  woman's  chattels 
I  have  no  knowledge,  so  I  will  pray  you  have  me 
excused." 

"He  who  knows  nothing,  knows  all  things ;  hence- 
forth will  I  fear  you,"  she  laughed. 

"A  Daniel  come  unto  judgment!"  cried  Mr. 
Yonge,  who  had  been  nursing  his  resentment  with 
smiling  countenance. 

"Or  rather  a  Solomon  come  into  his  inheritance !" 
retorted  Damaris  sharply. 

"The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart — " 

"That  there  is  no  retribution !"  finished  Damaris, 
laughing. 

"He  had  no  knowledge  of  women,  by  my  troth !" 
replied  Mr.  Yonge  ruefully. 

"Else  he  had  not  been  a  fool,"  answered  Damaris 
sweetly. 


The  Trail  of  the  Serpent  33 

"  Tis  passing  plain  that  some  men  have,"  inter- 
posed Captain  Maynard. 

"Faith,  you  and  I,"  answered  Mr.  Yonge.  "And 
which  were  the  greater  no  woman  could  tell." 

"Please  speak  for  yourself,  Mr.  Yonge,  and  it 
please  you,"  answered  the  other  stiffly. 

"So  do  I ;  but  more  generous  still,  I  speak  for  you 
in  so  good  a  cause,"  replied  Mr.  Yonge,  with  his 
unfailing  good  humor. 

"I  would  spare  your  commendation,"  said  the 
other  ungraciously.  The  easy  pleasantry  irritated 
him. 

"Nay,  but  I  give  it  all  the  more  ungrudgingly, 
seeing  you  do  not  ask  it.  Only  to  beggars  do  we 
deny  favors,"  he  answered  suavely.  No  one  could 
accuse  Mr.  Yonge  of  losing  his  temper  in  argument, 
however  he  lost  his  heart  to  women  and  his  gold  to 
dice,  and  in  words  as  in  other  things  the  victory  is 
to  the  cool. 

Captain  Maynard  unlimbered  his  guns  for  action, 
Damaris  smiled  wickedly,  Mr.  Yonge  amusedly,  but 
fortunately  for  the  irate  Captain  a  diversion  was 
made  by  a  servant  approaching  with  a  message  from 
the  Governor  to  the  effect  that  he  prayed  the  honor 
of  the  company  of  Mr.  Yonge  and  Captain  Maynard 
to  dinner,  and  would  Mistress  Damaris  be  so  kind 
as  to  send  him  the  key  of  his  wine  closet. 

Damaris  blushed  guiltily  as  she  slipped  her  hand 
into  her  pocket  and  brought  forth  the  missing  key, 
then  she  seconded  the  invitation  of  her  father,  which 
was  accepted  by  Mr.  Yonge  with  alacrity,  and  with 
grim  ungraciousness  by  his  rival. 


34  The  Carolinians 

Damaris  lifted  her  eyebrows  airily,  gathered  up 
her  injured  silks  and  walked  away  with  Mr.  Yonge. 
She  stopped  to  gather  a  handful  of  shrubs  and  a 
spray  of  woodbine,  she  broke  a  branch  of  syringa 
and  paused  to  catch  the  brilliant  drops  of  melody  that 
overflowed  the  connubial  loving-cup  of  a  mocking- 
bird balancing  himself  perilously  upon  a  Yaupon 
bush. 

The  joy  of  the  spring  was  in  her  blood,  also  the 
madness  of  rioting  sap.  Like  a  white  moth  she 
hovered  among  the  flowers,  now  in  shadow,  now  in 
sunlight — opalescent,  quivering,  keenly  alive.  At 
her  side  loitered  Francis  Yonge,  his  debonair 
speeches  waking  her  laughter  that  was  wafted  back 
to  the  sulky  Captain  standing  irresolute  under  the 
magnolias. 

"A  fool  weeps  when  a  woman  laughs.  Fire  is 
wasted  that  neither  warms  nor  burns !"  he  muttered 
discontentedly  to  himself,  then  strode  determinedly 
after  the  merry  couple. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PROPHECY 

"Cry,   Trojans,   cry!     lend   me   ten   thousand   eyes, 
And  I  will  fill  them  with  prophetic  tears." 

—Troilus  and  Cressida. 

That  solid  refreshment  known  as  dinner  when 
George  II.  was  king,  being  ended,  the  cloth  drawn, 
the  dessert  upon  the  mahogany,  the  desultory  mean- 
derings  of  conversation  were  abandoned  and  the 
discussion  settled  upon  the  all-absorbing  political 
situation. 

The  condition  of  Carolina  differed  widely  from 
that  of  the  other  colonies.  The  large  number  of 
Englishmen  of  rank  holding  honorable  and  lucrative 
positions  under  the  Lords  Proprietors  had  brought 
to  the  Province  and  preserved  within  it  a  culture, 
wealth  and  refinement  less  rarely  to  be  met  with  in 
the  other  colonies. 

Then  too  the  holding  of  special  charter  under  the 
Lords  Proprietors,  and  the  guarantee  of  religious 
liberty,  were  conducive  to  special  conditions  not 
altogether  happy  or  easy  of  administration.  The 
princely  gift  of  Charles  II.  to  the  Lords  William  and 
George  Berkeley,  Craven,  Carteret,  Ashley,  Claren- 
don and  Albemarle  had  not  been  without  its  draw- 
backs to  the  charter-vested  Proprietors. 


36  The  Carolinians 

Eternal  dissensions  and  dissatisfactions  had 
prevailed,  the  which  had  in  somewhat  subsided 
after  Governor  Archdale's  visit  and  administration 
recently  ended.  However,  now  in  1718  all  of  the 
old  grievances  seemed  to  have  revived,  as  well  as 
new  ones  equally  distressing. 

The  breach  between  the  Colonists  and  the  Pro- 
prietors had  been  widened  in  1715  by  an  appeal  of 
the  former  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  for  help  when 
a  war  with  the  Yamassees  was  pending;  but  upon 
the  chance  of  being  denied,  they  had  instructed  their 
emissaries  to  apply  to  the  King  for  relief.  The 
King  referred  the  matter  to  the  Lords  Commis- 
sioners of  Trade  and  Plantations,  while  these  made 
objection  that  as  long  as  the  Province  of  Carolina 
was  proprietary  the  nation  should  not  undertake  the 
support  of  it. 

The  Lords  Proprietors  arranged  with  His 
Majesty  that  he  should  furnish  certain  monies,  the 
which  not  being  paid  by  the  Proprietors  within 
specified  time,  the  government  should  revert  to  the 
Crown.  These  proceedings  had  aggravated  and 
made  more  strained  the  relations  between  Colonists 
and  Proprietors,  and  now  in  1718  the  vexed  question 
of  paper  currency  was  producing  renewed  irritation. 

It  had  recently  become  necessary  to  erect  and 
garrison  three  forts  at  the  cost  of  the  Colony, 
the  Proprietors,  notwithstanding,  having  recently 
repealed  the  law  appropriating  the  profits  of  the 
Indian  trade  to  the  public  protection. 

The  vindictive  Yamassees  kept  the  Colony  in  a 
state  of  uneasiness,  Carolina  being  the  frontier  of 
the  other  colonies,  as  it  were,  to  the  southward, 


Prophecy  37 

where  the  encroaching  Spaniard  wreaked  private 
vengeance  and  national  feud  against  them  by  inciting 
the  surrounding  Indians  to  massacre  and  pillage. 
The  horrors  of  St.  Matteo  and  the  destruction  of 
Lord  Cardross's  colony  at  Port  Royal  were  written 
in  blood  in  provincial  annals. 

Public  credit  was  in  a  disastrous  condition. 
Soldiers  refused  to  fight  in  defense  of  the  Colony 
without  pay.  The  Province,  weighed  down  by  debt, 
could  not  furnish  supplies.  The  people  complained 
of  the  incapacity  of  a  government  that  could  not 
protect  them,  yet  would  not  refer  them  to  the  Crown, 
their  idea  of  a  perfect  protection  being  a  direct 
dependence  upon  the  King.  Governor  Daniel, 
appreciating  the  position  of  the  Colony,  had  joined 
with  the  people  in  their  appeal  to  the  Proprietors, 
but  nothing  had  been  accomplished,  and  thus  stood 
matters  when  Gov.  Robert  Johnson  had  come  into 
office. 

Added  now  to  the  other  difficulties,  London 
merchants  and  money-lenders  complained  of  the 
excess  of  paper  currency  flooding  the  market,  and 
Governor  Johnson  received  official  instruction  to 
reduce  it.  Merchants  and  money-lenders  lost  by 
these  bills  of  credit,  while  the  planters,  who  profited 
by  them,  were  constantly  in  debt,  therefore  an 
eternal  clashing  between  mercantile  and  agricultural 
interests. 

The  Governor,  a  man  of  much  influence,  after 
great  exertions  prevailed  upon  the  Assembly  to  pass 
a  law  for  sinking  and  paying  off  these  bills  of  credit 
in  three  years,  by  a  tax  upon  land  and  negroes. 
This  Act  being  passed,  both  Proprietors  and  Colon- 


38  The  Carolinians 

ists  were  better  satisfied,  and  the  Governor  enter- 
tained great  hopes  of  a  final  reconciliation. 

At  the  time  when  the  dessert  was  placed  upon  the 
table  in  the  Governor's  dining-room,  Mr.  Yonge  was 
speaking  vigorously. 

"No,  your  Excellency,  I  beg  to  disagree  with  you. 
There  will  never  be  a  reconciliation  between  us  and 
our  Proprietary  governors.  They  sit  in  London 
amid  an  old  civilization  and  make  laws  impossible 
for  us  in  the  new ;  furthermore,  they  are  indifferent 
to  their  obligations  to  us,  and  with  an  ocean  rolling 
between,  our  persistence  amounts  to  little.  There 
is  a  chance  of  an  eventual  profit  and  so  they  hold  on 
to  us.  But  they  reckon  amiss ;  we  are  daily  slipping 
from  their  grasp,  and  they  will  awaken  to  a  dawn 
of  reason  only  when  their  sun  has  set." 

"I  trust  that  you  are  mistaken,  Mr.  Yonge,"  spoke 
the  Governor  quietly.  "The  recent  passing  of  the 
Act  to  pay  off  the  bills  of  credit  within  three  years 
has  done  much  to  establish  confidential  relations 
between  us." 

To  your  Excellency  belongs  the  credit  of  that 
honorable  bill,  but  it  has  come  too  late.  The  trouble 
is  too  deep-seated  and  many-rooted ;  its  fibres  under- 
net  our  whole  administrative  fabric." 

"Again  I  say  that  I  trust  you  are  wrong,"  replied 
the  Governor. 

"Would  God  that  he  were,"  interposed  Mr.  Jona- 
than Skrine,  "but  I  think  he  speaks  truly  this  time. 
There  are  hardly  a  handful  of  men  well  affected  to 
the  Proprietors.  In  whichsoever  way  you  go  the 
ill-will  of  the  people  is  like  the  buzzing  of  bees  about 
you.  So  much  venom  stings  sooner  or  later." 


Prophecy  39 

"You  gentlemen  are  sadly  unhopeful.  What  do 
you  think,  Captain  Maynard?"  asked  the  Governor, 
turning  to  the  Captain,  who  during  the  dinner  had 
sat  in  rather  unusual  silence. 

"I  have  not  recently  had  many  opportunities  of 
judging,  your  Excellency,  having  been  so  long  time 
afield;  and  since  being  at  home  my  duties  have 
interfered." 

"Pleasures,  not  duties,  I  should  call  them,"  inter- 
posed Mr.  Yonge,  with  meaning,  looking  hard  at 
Damaris. 

Whereupon  Damaris,  being  deeply  occupied  in 
cracking  a  nut,  brandished  the  cracker  aloft  and 
cried: 

"Here's  to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  our  most  un- 
fatherly  masters.  Even  as  I  treat  this  walnut,  so 
will  we  treat  them !" 

"My  daughter!"  remonstrated  the  Governor. 

"True,  father,  I  am  your  daughter.  I  also  am 
an  American  and  a  rebel.  You  are  an  Englishman, 
bound  by  tradition ;  you  cannot  help  it,  the  vice  only 
runs  out  in  the  third  generation.  I  am  regenerate ; 
there  is  something  in  the  air  of  this  new  world  that 
changes  those  born  in  it.  It  will  not  be  so  long 
before  we  will  have  forgotten  that  there  is  a  King 
in  England !" 

The  three  men  turned  upon  her  simultaneously, 
with  a  startled  look. 

"What  do  you  mean,  Damaris?"  asked  the  Gov- 
ernor gravely. 

"I  do  not  know,"  she  answered,  vaguely  gazing 
into  the  distance  with  unseeing  eyes.  "I  never  know 
what  I  mean — things  come  to  me,  that  is  all."  j 


40  The  Carolinians 

There  was  a  silence  broken  at  last  by  her.  "Here's 
to  another  Lord  Proprietor !"  she  cried  suddenly  as 
she  cracked  a  nut  with  vicious  energy. 

"That  is  not  a  Proprietor,  but  my  heart,  Mistress," 
whispered  Mr.  Yonge,  looking  at  her  intensely,  as 
he  had  a  fashion  of  doing  when  most  devoted — his 
lids  close  drawn,  till  only  a  ray  of  burning  light 
glowed  between. 

"Your  heart?"  laughed  Damaris  gayly.  "So  it 
is ;  here  I  have  it  hard  and  fast."  She  had  dropped 
her  nut  and  held  the  empty  crackers  close  together. 

"So  has  it  been  consumed  in  passion  for  you,"  he 
murmured. 

"Not  to  mention  some  score  of  others.  It  has 
been  burning  a  long  time;  it  took  many  flames  to 
consume  it.  However,  it  flatters  me  to  be  staged 
with  Mrs.  Bracegirdle  and  Mrs.  Oldfield,  not  to 
mention  lesser  lights,  private  and  public." 

"You  are  pleased  to  be  facetious." 

"Nay,  pained  to  be  truthful." 

"Whatever  you  are,  you  are  always  adorable." 

"That  is  no  longer  news  to  me — my  nurse  told  me 
that  even  before  I  could  understand.  Mr.  Skrine, 
won't  you  come  to  my  assistance?"  she  asked  play- 
fully, turning  to  her  other  neighbor  with  a  pretty 
smile. 

"With  my  two  arms  and  my  indifferent  wit  I  am 
at  your  service  ever,"  he  replied  warmly,  placing  his 
hand  upon  his  heart  with  a  grace  peculiarly  his  own. 
He  was  a  short  little  man,  this  worthy  Mr.  Jonathan 
Skrine,  with  short  little  arms,  which  he  used  after 
the  manner  of  a  penguin  its  flippers. 


Prophecy  41 

"A  declaration,  'pon  my  word!"  whispered  the 
incorrigible  Mr.  Yonge.  "A  blatant,  bold  and  open 
declaration !" 

"Mr.  Skrine,"  said  Damaris,  ignoring  the  other 
and  smiling  upon  her  stout  little  champion  in  the 
puce-colored  suit,  in  whose  face  there  were  more 
circles  and  curves  than  seemed  possible  with  a  given 
set  of  muscles,  and  whose  vaulted  eyebrows  seemed 
always  trying  to  hide  under  the  edge  of  his  ample 
wig;  "Mr.  Skrine,  is  it  the  fashion  in  Holland  for 
gentlemen  of  taste  to  sharpen  their  wits  at  the 
expense  of  the  ladies?" 

"Nay,  Mistress  Damaris,  there,  as  here,  they  are 
hardly  put  to  use  them  in  their  own  defense." 

"Bravo,  Jonathan !  Blessed  be  the  ancestors  that 
bequeathed  you  to  posterity!  A  little  more  and 
Mistress  Damaris  will  make  of  you  a  wit  as  she  has 
of  her  other  admirers,"  cried  Mr.  Yonge,  clapping 
his  hands  gleefully.  "Dick  Steele  could  not  have 
done  better." 

"Dick  Steele?  Who  is  Dick  Steele?  Is  he 
recently  come  into  the  Province  ?"  asked  Mr.  Skrine 
guilelessly. 

"Nay,  not  so;  even  with  Mr.  Yonge  came  he. 
Fair  imitation  is  actual  presence,"  answered  Damaris 
gayly.  "Poor  Mr.  Steele  must  indeed  be  a-weary 
of  his  life." 

"And  wherefore,  Mistress  Damaris?" 

"When  he  thinks  upon  his  imitators." 

"Not  imitators,  but  debtors.  Mistress  Damaris, 
he  must  indeed  be  of  a  vastly  enduring  constitution 
else  they  would  long  since  have  harried  him  into  his 
grave." 


42  The  Carolinians 

"By  your  own  word  are  his  imitators  the  more 
injurious." 

"And  wherefore,  and  it  please  you  ?" 

"At  the  grave  ends  the  evil  his  creditors  can  do 
him ;  his  imitators  will  continue  to  tarnish  his  repu- 
tation by  sorry  counterfeits  as  long  as  the  sun 
shines." 

"Having  fairly  vanquished  your  opponent,"  here 
the  Governor  interposed  smiling,  "I  think  that  you 
may  retire  with  the  honors  of  the  field  before  you 
endanger  them  in  another  sortie." 

"So  I  will,  but  without  striking  colors  to  a  fear. 
Only  one  more  walnut.  This  is  Chief  Justice  Trott," 
she  finished  as  she  deposited  the  shivered  nut,  a  mass 
of  decayed  kernel,  in  her  plate. 

Again  the  four  men  looked  at  the  girl  in  amaze, 
and  at  each  other  curiously. 

"You  must  set  a  guard  upon  your  lips.  You  are 
far  too  frivolous,  Damaris;  it  is  not  seemly  for 
maidens  to  discuss  those  of  high  estate,"  spoke  the 
Governor  gravely. 

"Not  even  the  Lords  Proprietors?"  she  asked 
archly. 

"Even  so." 

"Then  will  I  be  the  only  one  in  the  Province 
deprived  of  so  mischievous  subject  of  conversation. 
Beware,  your  Excellency,  discrimination  is  the  soul 
of  misrule.  Good-by,  most  unnatural  parent,  I  leave 
you  to  your  wine  and  your  discriminations.  Gen- 
tlemen, I  will  bid  you  good-day ;  flowers  flourish  not 
with  your  rank  Virginia  weed."  And  she  took  a 
rose  from  her  dress  and  waved  it  in  graceful  farewell. 


Prophecy  43 

Mr.  Yonge  drew  back  her  chair,  the  four  men 
stood  and  bowed  as  she  passed  out. 

"The  s'weetness  of  all  flowers  goes  with  you, 
Mistress  Damaris — so  speaks  Mr.  Skrine  through 
my  unworthy  lips,  being  himself  restrained  by 
modesty,"  said  Mr.  Yonge  gaily,  while  Mr. 
Skrine  colored  redder  than  her  rose,  Captain  May- 
nard  glowered  furiously  and  the  Governor  smiled 
indulgently. 

"Which  self-same  modesty  has  never  been  guilty 
of  restraining  Mr.  Yonge,"  laughed  Damaris,  and 
her  laughter  came  back  to  them  like  the  rippling 
morning  songs  of  birds. 

Mr.  Yonge  leaned  over  and  lifted  up  the  plate 
with  its  fragments  of  unsound  nut. 

"We  have  a  Cassandra  in  our  midst,"  he  said 
slowly. 

"God  forbid!"  spoke  the  Governor  sadly,  and 
turned  to  the  window  his  troubled  eyes. 

"The  devil  helps  his  own  and  the  Chief  Justice  is 
in  a  fair  way  to  undo  us,  thereon  stake  I  my  last 
guinea,"  spoke  Francis  Yonge  bitterly. 

"Nay,  friend  Francis,  it  cannot  be  so  bad,  but 
good  men  can  better  it  in  time.  The  Justice  is  but 
one  man  after  all,  and  there  be  some  of  staunch 
temper  in  the  Province,  and  should  truth  grow 
where  suspicion  now  sows  these  will  testify  to  the 
Proprietors  of  the  mischievous  character  of  this  man, 
and  pray  them  remove  him,"  urged  Mr.  Skrine. 

"And  to  what  purpose,  I  pray  you?  So  ready 
are  they  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  people,  so 
gracious  are  they  when  we  call  upon  them  for  the 


44  The  Carolinians 

protection  to  which  we  are  entitled !"  said  Mr.  Yonge 
scornfully. 

"Nay,  gentlemen,"  spoke  the  Governor,  lifting  his 
hand  with  commanding  gesture,  "I  pray  you  be  more  \ 
guarded.     I  charge  you  hold  faith  with  the  Pro-     \ 
prietors.      When   a   man   comes   to   the   point   of 
reviling  his  benefactors  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in      / 
his  sight.     Suppose  that  we  adjourn  to  the  piazza/ 
with  our  pipes ;  it  is  cooler  there." 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  WORDS  OF  THE  WISE 

"  'Tis  a  playing  day  I  see." 

-Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 
"The  worst  fault  you  have  is  to  be'  in  love." 

—As  You  Like  It. 

"So,  Mistress  Damaris,  you  have  come  at  last ! 
How  came  you  to  know  that  I  had  made  requisition 
upon  the  Governor  for  a  company  of  horse  to  fetch 
you  ?  Nay,  child,  don't  kiss  me.  I  never  could  a-bear 
to  be  kissed  by  unbearded  lips.  The  only  woman 
ever  kissed  me  was  my  nurse,  and  she  was  bearded 
like  a  trooper.  My  mother  couldn't  abide  me  be- 
cause I  looked  like  my  father.  All  the  beauty  in  the 
family  came  from  my  father's  side.  'Tis  half  a  year 
of  Lammas  Tides  since  you  have  set  foot  across  my 
threshold.  Troth,  did  you  think  I  had  a  murrain  or 
a  plague  of  pox?  Thrice  I  have  invited  you  to  dine, 
twice  to  sup,  and  again  to  go  abroad  in  my  coach. 
Now  what  have  you  got  to  say  for  yourself?" 

"A  great  deal,"  answered  Damaris,  laughing. 
"But,  and  it  please  your  Ladyship,  I  would  prefer  to 
hear  what  you  have  got  to  say  for  yourself.  It  were 
vastly  more  entertaining,  facts  are  so  depressing." 

"Saucy  baggage,"  answered  the  old  lady,  cackling. 
"I'll  warrant  that  your  tongue  is  a  highway  to  sue- 


46  The  Carolinians    - 

"A  byway,"  laughed  Damaris,  "when  honest  ways 
fail." 

"By  the  same  I  know  that  you  have  been  wasting 
your  time  upon  men.     Such  knowledge  comes  from 
commerce  with  fools.    Truth  died  when  Adam  was 
born." 
\   "It  was  born  again  in  Eve,"  laughed  Damaris. 

"It  does  not  bear  a  charmed  existence,  and  it  is 
just  as  well.  Truth  has  a  shocking  way  of  wearing 
its  dirty  linen  outside.  To  be  truly  well-bred,  you 
must  not  know  truth  from  falsehood.  Keep  them 
both  ready  to  hand,  and  use  them  impartially  as  the 
occasion  demands.  Tell  me  w.hat  you  have  been 
doing,  child,  and  mind  you  tell  me  no  lies." 

"I  thought  that  I  was  to  be  well-bred." 

"Only  with  men  and  with  other  women.  I  am 
sufficiently  well-bred  for  us  both.  Now  tell  me  all 
that  you  have  been  doing.  No,  don't  te-ll  me  about 
the  sweetmeats  and  cordials  you  have  made.  I  hate 
domestic  women,  they  always  smell  of  dish-cloths. 
The  Lord  ordained  social  distinctions  to  save  ladies 
from  domestic  drudgery,  and  child-bearing  is  only 
respectable  when  there  is  an  entail  to  be  considered. 
Ring  for  James,  child,  we  will  have  a  dish  of  tea" 
There  is  nothing  so  productive  of  tale-telling  and 
scandal  as  a  good  cup  of  tea.  I  have  never  seen  the 
woman  whose  secret  I  could  not  unlock  with  a 
judicious  administration  of  the  brew." 

"But,  your  Ladyship,  I  have  no  secrets,"  said 
Damaris. 

"I  never  saw  a  woman  who  had !  They  all  belong 
to  the  men.  Strange  how  many  women  keep  from 


The  Words  of  the  Wise  47 

them.  Don't  talk  while  you  drink  the  first  cup,  or  the 
charm  won't  work." 

Damaris  smiled  as  she  drank  her  tea  in  the  porce- 
lain cup  that  came  with  it  over  seas,  her  interlocutor 
doing  the  same,  save  that  she  drank  three  cups  to 
Damaris's  one.  She  was  a  strange  old  lady,  with 
manners  nearer  French  than  perfect.  Indeed,  she 
looked  as  though  she  had  just  stepped  out  of  Louis's 
salon  after  having  come  off  first  best  with  the  witty 
Duke — in  truth,  she  had  there  passed  many  years  of 
her  life.  Her  dark  eyes,  set  close  together,  were 
black  and  piercing ;  her  nose  hooked,  her  lips  thin  and 
straight  over  her  sharp  white  teeth.  The  cynical  old 
heart  still  pumped  up  its  last  drops  to  the  lips  and 
cheeks,  which  showed  red  under  the  rouge ;  her  hair 
was  high  piled  and  always  in  powder,  her  garments 
were  rich,  her  lace  costly,  jewels  profuse ;  in  her  face, 
that  indescribable  look  that  dwells  in  the  faces  of 
those  who  have  seen  much  of  men  and  courts;  the 
crowning  vanity  of  the  old  lady,  the  shapely  foot  in 
its  little  shoe,  red-heeled  and  dainty,  buckled  with 
diamonds,  stretched  out  on  its  footstool  well  in  sight, 
come  men  or  come  women. 

The  room,  panelled  in  mahogany  wood  brought 
from  the  West  India  Islands,  rich  in  the  costly  fur- 
nishings of  England  and  France,  made  a  fitting  set- 
ting for  Lady  Kildare,  herself  the  product  of  the 
polish  and  fashion  of  two  courts,  worldly-wise  with 
the  knowledge  that  comes  from  association  with  the 
wits  and  the  libertines  of  the  age. 

Lady  Kildare  put  down  her  cup  and  tapped  on  the 
floor  to  command  Damaris's  attention,  for  with  her 


48  The  Carolinians 

eyes  fixed  on  a  portrait  by  Kneller  she  sat  lost  in 
thought. 

"Now,  Mistress  Damaris,  what  is  this  that  I  do 
hear  about  your  carryings  on  with  that  man  of  the 
woods,  Captain  Maynard. 

"Truly,  your  Ladyship,  with  the  most  prodigious 
ingenuity  in  the  world  I  could  not  divine  the  gossip 
of  the  town,"  answered  Damaris  calmly,  nor  was 
there  so  much  as  the  pretense  of  a  blush  under  the 
nodding  white  plumes  of  her  bewitching  bonnet. 

"No  airy  subterfuge,  if  you  please,  young  lady," 
sharply  spoke  Lady  Kildare.  "I  am  told  upon  the 
best  authority." 

"They  say — "  interjected  Damaris  archly. 

"Don't  interrupt,  it's  rude!"  snapped  her  Lady- 
ship. "It  is  passing  plain  that  you  need  to  go  to 
London  to  have  your  manners  mended.  You  are 
shockingly  provincial !" 

"It  is  better  to  be  wicked  than  provincial,  I  sup- 
pose," said  the  girl  innocently. 

"Certainly  it  is;  everybody  in  good  society  is 
wicked,  only  we  follow  the  fashion  and  do  not  call 
each  other  names.  To  be  good  is  to  be  an  offense  to 
your  neighbor.  Piety  is  only  pardonable  in  parsons, 
and  with  them  it  is  a  paid  calling  with  usurious  inter- 
est beyond  the  grave.  But  to  go  back  to  Captain 
Maynard  — " 

"You  seem  to  be  fond  of  him,"  spoke  Damaris 
innocently. 

"Fond  of  him !  Certes  I  am — as  fond  of  him  as 
I  am  of  parsons  and  old  women  and  babies ;  but  I 


The  Words  of  the  Wise  49 

mean  to  see  that  you  are  not  foolish  enough  to  grow 
fond  of  him." 

"How  will  you  manage,  send  me  over  to  the 
tower?" 

"That's  a  good  idea.  You  are  not  such  a  fool  af- 
ter all,  child ;  only  it  will  be  him  for  whom  I  will  pro- 
vide that  opportunity  for  meditation  and  prayer." 

"How  will  you  arrange  it?" 

"In  politics  all  things  can  be  arranged.  There  is 
nothing  in  earth  nor  hell  that  can  withstand  them." 

"Should  you  shut  him  up  in  the  Tower  I  would 
be  sure  to  love  him,  it  would  be  so  romantic." 

"And  I  believe  that  you  would,  too,"  replied  the 
old  lady,  eyeing  her  sharply.  "There  was  ever  a 
screw  loose  in  you  Johnsons ;  I  needs  must  find  some 
other  way." 

"What  makes  you  think  that  you  need  to  put  him 
out  of  the  way  ?  There  are  other  genteel  men  in  the 
Province." 

"Certes  there  are,  and  vastly  more  genteel.  Now 
there  is  Francis  Yonge — " 

"I  adore  Mr.  Francis  Yonge!" 

"No,  you  don't  neither,  Miss,  or  you  wouldn't  be 
so  glib  to  own  it.  Now  he  would  make  you  a  good 
husband." 

"But  I  don't  want  a  good  husband." 

"You  don't  deserve  one,  flying  in  the  face  of  Prov- 
idence as  you  do !  Now,  Mr.  Yonge  has  money,  wit, 
position  and  everything  that  a  woman  could  desire ; 
he  would  take  you  to  London  and  present  you  at 
court." 


50  The  Carolinians 

"There  would  I  be  a  monstrous  failure  on  account 
of  my  goodness." 

"No,  you  wouldn't  neither;  besides,  you  would 
soon  become  qualified — half  the  gallants  in  town 
would  be  dancing  attendance." 

"Pleasant  for  Mr.  Francis  Yonge." 

"Not  so  mighty  pleasant  neither,  but  what  a  man 
must  expect  who  marries  a  pretty  woman." 

"Then  should  there  be  premium  upon  ugly 
wives  ?" 

"No  such  thing!  A  man  only  values  what  he  is 
afraid  of,  only  loves  what  everybody  else  is  trying  to 
take  from  him." 

"Yet  would  you  consign  me  to  one  of  these  mon- 
sters." 

"It  is  the  best  thing  that  you  can  do  under  the 
present  imperfect  earthly  conditions ;  you  can't  be  an 
old  maid,  it  isn't  genteel.  England's  Virgin  Queen 
is  the  blackest  spot  on  her  'scutcheon." 

"All  the  saints  were  single." 

"Frumps,  all  of  them !  A  woman  only  turns  to 
religion  when  society  turns  its  back  on  her.  Now  be 
an  amiable  child  and  promise  your  wise  old  friend 
that  you  won't  marry  Captain  Maynard.  and  I'll  tell 
you  about  the  rout  I  am  going  to  give." 

"Will  there  be  dancing?" 

"Certainly ;  I  haven't  gone  over  to  the  Dissenters ! 
But  not  another  word  until  you  give  me  your  prom- 
ise." 

"Too  bad !  I  am  dying  to  hear  about  the  ball.  I  do 
not  suppose  that  I  will  even  be  invited." 


The  Words  of  the  Wise  51 

"Promise;  it  were  a  shame  not  to  air  that  new 
gown  just  over  from  London." 

"Truly  it  would.  'Tis  a  love  of  a  gown  and  pass- 
ing weary  of  retirement." 

"Promise." 

"Promise,"  repeated  Damaris,  laughing  heartily. 
"What  were  my  promise  worth  and  it  behooved  me 
to  break  it.  Promises  made  under  compulsion  are 
no  more  binding  than  swallow  flights.  Methinks 
your  friend  Captain  Maynard  would  be  vastly 
amazed  at  your  serious  consideration  of  his  position. 
I  never  make  promises.  The  last  I  made  was  not  to 
touch  the  new  English  strawberries.  I  found  it  so 
hard  to  keep  that  I  have  never  made  another." 

"You  are  a' hopeless  and  impertinent  baggage! 
Don't  flirt  till  you  are  married,  Damaris;  it  isn't 
safe.  Marriage  is  the  palladium  of  a  woman's  lib- 
erty!" 

"Good-by ,  your  Ladyship.  You  will  tell  me 
about  the  ball  the  day  after  and  save  me  some  of  the 
comfits,  and  you  love  me !" 

"Be  sure  you  wear  the  new  gown — Mr.  Yonge 
will  be  here." 

"And  others." 

"Saucy  minx,  be  off  with  you  and  remember  what 
I  say!  Never  an  invitation  should  Tomahawk 
receive,  and  it  were  not  that  I  would  offend  Rob- 
ert Johnson.  One  must  stand  well  with  the  powers 
that  be." 

In  the  doorway  Damaris  paused  and  kissed  her 
fingers  lightly  to  the  indomitable  old  lady  leaning 
upon  her  cane,  then  the  bright  face  a-shine  with 


52  The  Carolinians 

laughter  and  the  slight  form  all  cloudy  white  in  its 
soft  draperies  were  swallowed  up  in  the  shadows 
of  the  great  dusky  hall. 

Within,  the  shrunken  form  collapsed  in  its  chair. 
The  curtain  was  down.  "Youth,  beautiful  youth !" 
she  muttered.  "All  before  it,  nothing  behind !  The 
rustle  of  angel  wings  over  its  head,  never  a  ghost  in 
its  chamber !  A  plague  upon  that  idle  lout,  why  tar- 
ries he  with  the  lights  ?  Twilight  breeds  ghosts  as 
a  cheese  maggots.  James,  see  that  you  are  not  again 
so  late  with  the  candles.  I  hate  darkness, 'I  am  af- 
frighted of  mice !  Bring  me  a  petite  verre  of  cognac, 
the  darkness  has  made  me  chill.  Harkye,  no  water ; 
it  spoils  the  flavor." 


CHAPTER  VI 

WILFUL  WOMAN 

"Oh,   waly,   waly,  but   love  is  bonnie 

A  little  time  while  it  is  new; 
But  when  'tis  auld  it  waxeth  cauld, 

And  fades  awa'  like  the  morning  dew." 

— Anon, 

Everywhere  above  and  below,  among  greenery 
and  flowers,  wax  lights  burned  with  starry  softness, 
the  pale  green  candles  of  the  Province  giving  forth 
the  faint  sweet  smell  of  myrtle  berries. 

Everywhere  roses,  orange-blossoms  and  all  man- 
ner of  vivid  bloom. 

Everywhere  women,  men,  laughter  and  music ;  the 
soft  sighing  of  silken  robes  as  they  trailed  over  the 
floor ;  the  rustle  of  fans  as  they  breasted  the  air ;  the 
throb  of  the  air  that  seems  to  quiver  with  subtle, 
sensuous  passion  when  there  is  music  and  laughter, 
men,  women  and  wine. 

Upon  the  landing  of  the  stairway  stood  Damaris 
in  the  gown  that  had  come  from  London  in  the  good 
ship  the  Queen's  Rose.  Soft  and  shining  it  fell 
about  her ;  lillies  of  gold  were  broidered  upon  it,  and 
more  it  resembled  a  fleecy  cloud  that  floats  o'er  the 
bright  face  of  the  moon  than  earthly  fabric,  and 
Damaris  herself  never  before  so  radiant,  the  chang- 


54  The   Carolinians 

ing  lights  in  her  face  as  beautiful  as  those  of  the 
opals  in  the  necklace. 

She  stood  with  her  arm  slipped  lightly  into  that  of 
the  Governor,  himself  resplendent  in  pearl-colored 
velvet  and  satin  and  lace,  and  as  they  paused  there 
upon  the  landing,  looking  down  upon  the  brilliant 
scene,  many  eyes  were  raised  in  admiration  of  the 
goodly  pair. 

"Welcome,  your  Excellency;  we  find  ourselves 
truly  honored  by  your  presence!"  Lady  Kildare 
swept  him  the  courtesy  of  King  Louis's  salon  as  she 
spoke.  The  Governor  bowed  low  over  her  hand,  sa- 
luting it.  "So,  Mistress  Impudence,  you  come  late 
that  your  charms  may  be  heightened  by  expectation. 
Nay,  but  you  have  wasted  your  time,  seeing  that  your 
beauty  needs  no  aid  this  evening.  Waste  no  more  time 
talking  to  an  old  woman,  and  mind  you  waste  it  not 
in  talking  to  Tomahawk,  either.  Harkye,  I  have 
my  eye  upon  you !  There  they  come,  the  noble 
army  of  martyrs,  eager  for  the  sacrifice.  Yes,  Mr. 
Yonge,  she  has  promised  to  dance  the  first  set  with 
you,  and  my  blessing  goes  with  you.  Be  sure  that 
you  dance  vis-a-vis  to  Mistress  Dorothy  Bowers,  so 
she  will  be  shinecl  down.  I  can't  a-bear  her  airs  and 
graces.  A  poor  enough  breed  the  Bowers  of  Shrop- 
shire, a  most  indifferent  mixture  of  psalm-singing 
and  license;  and  'pon  my  honor,  she  looks  like  a 
frump  in  that  yellow  gown." 

Damaris  glanced  across  at  the  lady  in  question,  a 
handsome  brunette,  resplendent  in  yellow  brocade, 
her  rival  belle  in  the  Province,  presumably  also  her 
rival  in  the  affections  of  Captain  Maynard. 


Wilful  Woman  55 

"I  think  her  rarely  beautiful  this  evening,"  she 
said  amiably. 

"Nonsense,  you  think  nothing  of  the  sort !  When  I 
was  a  handsome  young  woman  myself  I  never  saw 
anything  handsome  outside  of  my  own  mirror,  and 
women  have  ever  been  the  same  since  Sarah  of  the 
Israelites  had  herself  boxed  up  before  going  into 
Egypt,  because  she  thought  herself  so  much  more 
beautiful  than  the  idolatrous  women.  Don't  be  a 
prig,  Mistress  Damaris !" 

"It  is  not  every  one  who  can  be  a  wit,  your  Lady- 
ship," said  Damaris,  courtesying  deeply. 

"You  don't  need  to  flatter  me,  child,  I  am  not  your 
enemy." 

"To  flatter  one's  neighbor  is  the  first  Christian  vir- 
tue," suggested  Mr.  Yonge. 

"Then  among  Christians  are  you  easily  first,  Mr. 
Yonge,  if  indeed  one  virtue  can  make  a  Christian," 
replied  Lady  Kildare. 

"It  takes  but  one  virtue  to  make  a  martyr,  your 
Ladyship." 

"And  that?" 

"Constancy !"  he  replied,  looking  languishingly  at 
Damaris,  while  Lady  Kildare  chuckled  gleefully  and 
said: 

"Were  your  wit  equalled  by  your  constancy,  be- 
shrew  me,  you  had  not  languished  thus  long  for  the 
fair." 

"Nor  the  fair  have  languished  thus  long  for  him," 
said  Damaris  mockingly,  whereupon  Lady  Kildare 
continued  to  chuckle.  Mr.  Skrine  laughed  delight- 
edly, the  Governor  smiled,  but  the  countenance  of  the 


56  The  Carolinians 

great  Indian  Captain  was  as  impassive  as  that  of  his 
braves.  Mr.  Yonge,  who  possessed  the  rare  talent 
of  never  being  defeated,  smiled  in  mock  despair,  and 
bowing  with  hand  on  heart  answered  gallantly : 

"Truly,  I  am  honored,  Mistress  Damaris,  that  you 
stoop  to  use  my  heart  even  as  a  plaything.  That  it 
dwells  thus  long  in  your  keeping  makes  it  a  worthier 
thing." 

"Nay,  Mr.  Yonge,"  she  replied,  "  'tis  but  a  shuttle- 
cock that  I  battled  in  passing,  since  'tis  ever  on  the 
wing." 

"So  also  is  Cupid." 

"And  like  Cupid,  a  wanderer !" 

"Heigho,  were  there  ever  such  wits  outside  of 
Buttons,  or  those  of  Nell  Gwynn  and  my  Lord  Sed- 
ley,"  interrupted  Lady  Kildare,  whose  dominant 
spirit  might  not  longer  submit  to  being  in  the  back- 
ground, albeit  a  delighted  listener.  "A  truce  to  wit, 
Mistress  Damaris.  Wit  is  first  cousin  to  misan- 
thropy and  the  sting  of  old  age  is  wisdom ;  love  is 
the  lord  of  youth,  and  the  dance  is  the  measure  of  its 
folly.  Away  with  you,  I  would  fain  see  if  your  feet 
are  as  nimble  as  your  tongue!  Gentlemen,  to  the 
breach !" 

Three  devoted  heads  bowed  low,  three  hands 
pressed  the  sometime  habitation  of  affection. 

Damaris  bowed  low,  around  her  rippled  the  foamy 
waves  of  her  sheeny  garments  like  the  murmur  of 
the  summer  sea.  Within  her  line  of  vision  three 
pairs  of  goodly  calves  in  all  their  silken  bravery  of 
crimson,  azure  and  peach-color.  Damaris's  heart 
was  all  a-glee,  but  she  emptied  her  eyes  of  laughter 


Wilful  Woman  57 

and  to  the  three  pairs  of  anxious  eyes  was  lifted  a 
countenance  passing  demure.  Lady  Kildare  fidget- 
ted  in  silence,  her  indomitable  will  essaying  to  bind 
the  girl's  choice;  the  Governor  smiled  to  think  that 
she  was  fairly  caught  in  the  snare  of  the  fowler. 

"Gentlemen,"  she  said,  smiling  impartially  upon 
them,  "in  my  heart  I  find  it  easy  to  pardon  you  the 
zeal  that  makes  you  forget  that  the  Governor  takes 
precedence.  An  revoir!"  she  slipped  her  arm  into 
that  of  the  Governor  and  walked  calmly  away. 

The  old  schemer,  "who  could  not  take  her  tea 
without  a  stratagem,"  gasped,  undone.  The  three 
men  laughed  foolishly.  "Fore  God,  gentlemen,"  she 
stormed,  "why  stand  you  there  like  gibbering  idiots ! 
Shame  upon  you  to  be  flouted  by  a  maid !  Methought 
I  was  bidding  gallants,  not  milk-sops,  to  my  feast." 

There  was  no  meeting  Lady  Kildare's  wrath  with 
weapons  merely  human.  The  three  rejected  part- 
ners bowed  and  moved  away  in  inglorious  silence. 

Lady  Kildare  dropped  down  into  her  chair  in 
impotent  rage,  her  brocade  crackling  with  anger, 
her  jewels  flashing  scorn.  "Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  to 
be  outwitted  by  a  girl,  an  impudent  jade,  scarce  out 
of  pinafores!"  she  raged  inwardly.  "Provincial 
bred  at  that !  Faugh !  I  wonder  if  I  am  growing  old  ?" 
She  glanced  nervously  at  her  bejewelled  hands, 
musk-scented.  "One  isn't  old  as  long  as  one  ignores 
it.  Age  is  a  courtier  and  waits  in  the  ante-chamber," 
she  said  and  buried  her  hands  in  the  ruffles  of  her 
sleeves.  A  kinder  look  came  slowly  into  the  shrewd 
old  eyes.  "After  all,  it  was  right  cleverly  done.  I 
could  not  have  done  it  better  myself  in  my  youth. 


58  The  Carolinians 

By  the  Lord  Harry,  the  girl  has  wit.  She  ought  to 
be  French  and  the  wife  of  the  king,  then  would  she 
hold  her  own  right  bravely  with  the  favorites,  and 
the  monarchs  would  become  almost  moral.  Not  so 
very  bad,  neither,  since  Tomahawk  has  a  softer  head 
than  Francis  Yonge  and  will  be  longer  in  the  mend- 
ing." Lady  Kildare  nodded  her  be-plumed  head  sa- 
gaciously and  cackled  in  wicked  glee  as  she  rose  to 
meet  the  Governor,  who  approached.  And  so  wore 
the  night  on,  in  music  and  in  laughter,  in  love  and 
in  scheming. 

The  ways  of  the  transgressor  are  not  always  hard. 
Damaris,  every  nerve  a-tingle  with  delicious  excite- 
ment, leaned  against  the  jessamine-twined  pillar,  the 
light  of  the  full  moon  glorifying  her  flushed  face. 
Before  her  Mr.  Jonathan  Skrine,  his  well-muscled 
heart  in  his  well-rounded  bosom,  pumping  up  into 
his  well-regulated  brain  so  many  wild  ideas  that  it 
was  well-nigh  a-bursting  with  its  new  experience. 

Damaris's  bare  hand  lay  upon  the  balustrade 
within  easy  reach ;  the  new  man  in  Jonathan  Skrine 
reached  out  and  lifted  the  dainty  fingers. 

"Oh !"  cried  Damaris,  as  though  she  were  hurt. 

"Oh !"  cried  Mr.  Skrine,  as  though  he  were  more 
hurt  still. 

Damaris  stood  in  angry  amazement.  Mr.  Skrine, 
his  face  the  picture  of  despair,  shifted  uneasily  from 
foot  to  foot  as  though  the  hurt  came  through  his 
varnished  boots. 

"I  crave  your  pardon,"  he  cried  in  genuine  con- 
trition. "I  beg  a  thousand  pardons,"  he  said  piti- 
fully. "I  never  did  such  a  thing  before  in  my  life. 


Wilful  Woman  59 

I  do  not  know  why  I  did  it — it  just  looked  so 
delicious,"  he  ended  lamely. 

"But  it  isn't  delicious;  it  is  just  plain,  ordinary 
clay."  Damaris  smiled  as  she  held  up  her  hand, 
surveying  it  critically. 

"I  can  never  forgive  myself,"  he  pleaded  abjectly. 
"Rather  would  I  die  a  thousand  times  than  be  dis- 
respectful to  you." 

"Truly  I  believe  you,  Mr.  Skrine,"  said  Damaris 
kindly. 

"For  a  moment  you  did  but  think  that  I  was  Lady 
Kildare.  When  we  are  both  seventy  it  won't  be  any 
harm  because  then  we  won't  care  about  it." 

"You  are  generosity  itself.  That  I  should  have 
ever  appeared  to  be  disrespectful  to  you  is  the  grief 
of  my  life.  There  is  something  amiss  with  me.  A 
sort  of  lightness  here."  He  touched  his  head 
pathetically. 

"It  is  the  heat,  Mr.  Skrine.  I  have  not  felt  quite 
steady  myself,"  she  spoke  consolingly.  "Think  no 
more  of  it.  I  have  forgotten  it." 

For  some  moments  Mr.  Skrine  was  busied  in 
swallowing  a  series  of  obstacles  in  his  throat.  He 
shifted  uneasily  from  foot  to  foot  and  began  in  a 
tremulous  voice : 

"Again  say  I  that  you  have  the  goodness  of  an 
angel.  I  would  that  I  could  tell  you  how  great  is 
my  respect  for  you — nay,  more  than  respect — but 
my  tongue  is  a  lame  ass  that  halts  overburdened.  I 
do  not  look  like  a  daring  man,  do  I,  Mistress 
Damaris?"  She  smiled  pitifully  in  her  heart  as  she 
regarded  his  moist  face  and  unvalorous  figure.  "But 
I  have  dared  do  more  than  a  braver  man  would  do, 


60  The  Carolinians 

nay — but  I  will  not  trouble  you  therewith.  I  am  a 
dull  man  and  little  given  to  words.  When  others 
are  talking  they  seem  to  forget  me,  and  so  it  chances 
that  I  think  to  know  where  your  choice  will  lie. 
You  have  seemed  so  happy,  too,  since  the  return  of  a 
certain  one  who  shall  be  nameless,  and  permit  me  to 
say—" 

"A  thousand  pardons,  but  may  I  claim  this  dance, 
Mistress  Johnson?"  spoke  a  tall  man,  suddenly 
appearing. 

"Certainly,  Colonel  Parris.  You  will  excuse  me, 
Mr.  Skrine."  And  Damaris  swept  away.  She  smiled 
upon  the  pleasantries  of  Colonel  Parris,  laughed 
away  his  compliments,  gave  sally  for  sally,  but  every 
vein  in  her  body  was  fired  with  mortification.  That 
Lady  Kildare  should  tax  her  with  fondness  for 
Captain  Maynard  amused  her,  for  she  always 
assumed  that  she  had  a  fondness  for  every  man  in 
the  Province  whom  she  considered  ineligible;  but 
that  kind,  blundering  Jonathan  Skrine  should  have 
suspected  it  was  as  the  poison  of  asps  in  her  blood, 
and  with  the  unreason  of  a  woman  who  balances 
herself  upon  the  fatal  brink,  the  whole  tide  of  her 
anger,  at  flood,  set  toward  the  unoffending  Captain. 
Had  he  a  guardian  angel  it  should  straitly  have 
warned  him  to  be  gone ;  but  guardian  angels,  being 
addicted  to  tabret  and  harp,  are  often  unmindful  of 
mundane  obligations. 

A  little  later  the  minuet  being  ended,  Damaris 
stood  somewhat  apart,  while  Colonel  Parris  sought 
her  mislaid  fan.  Captain  Maynard  was  quickly  at 
her  side.  He  did  not  look  aglow  with  festivity; 
rather  there  was  in  his  eyes  the  look  of  a  man  who 


Wilful  Woman  61 

has  watched  the  lights  burn  out  while  others  danced. 

"The  next  dance  is  mine/'  he  said  with  conviction 
made  emphatic  by  jealousy,  which  is  sharper  than 
a  serpent's  tooth. 

"I  have  already  danced  with  you,"  she  answered 
coolly. 

"So  have  you  also  three  times  with  Mr.  Yonge." 

"Methinks  you  have  set  yourself  to  spy  upon  that 
which  concerns  you  not,"  she  flashed  angrily. 

"You  are  mistaken;  it  concerns  me  greatly;  it 
concerns  me  also  that  you  choose  not  your  words 
with  greater  nicety." 

"If  my  words  please  you  not  it  were  easy  to 
dispense  with  them." 

"Are  you  seeking  to  make  a  quarrel,  Damaris  ?" 

"I  seek  only  to  free  myself  from  unwarrantable 
surveillance." 

"I  do  not  consider  it  unwarrantable  that  after 
what  has  recently  passed  between  us  I  should  object 
to  your  making  yourself  the  gossip  of  the  town  with 
your  vain  coquetries  with  Mr.  Yonge." 

"To  begin  with,  I  will  say  that  I  see  nothing  in 
what  has  passed  between  us  to  justify  you  in  any 
claims  upon  me,  nor  rights  to  criticise  my  conduct." 

"Does  it  mean  nothing  to  you,  then  ?" 

"What,  the  idleness  of  a  spring  morning?  A 
woman's  life  holds  many  such.  Truly,  Captain 
Maynard,  you  have  dwelled  so  long  in  savage  tents 
that  you  seem  to  have  become  unlettered  in  the 
fashion  of  society." 

Across  the  room  Colonel  Parris  and  Mr.  Yonge 
were  hurrying  toward  them,  the  first  bars  of  the  next 
dance  were  scraping  from  tightening  violin  strings. 


62  The  Carolinians 

Captain  Maynard  forced  down  the  anger  within  him. 
He  looked  steadily  into  Damaris's  reckless  eyes  and 
spoke  with  the  quiet  tenseness  of  controlled  passion : 

"I  cannot  understand  you.  I  hope  that  you  are 
but  playing  in  wilful  mood.  If  you  keep  your 
promise  and  dance  this  next  with  me  it  is  well; 
otherwise — " 

"Otherwise  you  will  understand  as  I  wish  you  to 
do." 

"So  I  will." 

The  two  measured  each  other.  Damaris's  eyes 
were  angry  and  baffling;  those  of  the  Captain  could 
have  consumed  her  with  rage. 

"I  hold  it  a  great  misfortune  that  the  quest  of  this 
has  detained  me  so  long  time  from  you."  And 
Colonel  Parris,  a  tall,  dark  gentleman,  bowed  as  he 
presented  the  recovered  fan. 

"And  it  is  my  good  fortune  that  this  set  belongs 
to  me,"  said  Mr.  Yonge. 

"Troth,  it  should  be  my  compensation  for  recover- 
ing the  fan,"  urged  Colonel  Parris. 

"And  my  memory  plays  me  not  false,  both  of 
these  gentlemen  must  find  their  compensation  else- 
where, seeing  this  set  has  been  promised  to  me," 
spoke  Captain  Maynard  with  deadly  quiet. 

There  was  a  brief  moment's  pause.  Damaris  held 
the  three  suitors  in  survey,  then  she  spoke  lightly 
as  she  looked  daringly  at  Captain  Maynard. 

"What  an  embarrassment  of  riches!  And  my 
memory  plays  me  not  false,  the  dance  belongs  to  Mr. 
Yonge."  She  laid  her  hand  upon  his  extended  arm, 
the  other  two  gentlemen  bowed,  and  the  couple 
moved  away  to  their  place  in  the  dance. 


Wilful  Woman  63 

"By  the  Lord  Harry,  Tomahawk  has  come  a 
cropper  on  the  homestretch!"  cried  Lady  Kildare, 
who,  wicked  old  schemer  that  she  was,  had  scented 
the  danger  from  afar  and  rejoiced  in  the  Captain's 
suspected  discomfiture. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  your  Ladyship,  I  do  not  quite 
understand,"  spoke  her  companion,  a  large  man  of 
unctuous  appearance,  and  eyes  inclined  to  be  shifty. 

"No  more  should  you,  Justice  Trott,"  chuckled 
the  old  lady.  "Politics,  not  love-making,  is  your 
talent." 

"I  was  not  born  a  politician,  Lady  Kildare.  I 
am  the  slave  of  circumstance,"  he  answered 
sententiously. 

Lady  Kildare  surveyed  him  critically.  Not  a  line 
in  the  clever  face,  selfish,  self-seeking,  with  its  sug- 
gestion of  psychic  instincts,  escaped  her  sharp  old 
eyes. 

"The  slave  of  passion  you  might  be,  Justice, 
but  the  slave  of  circumstance,  never."  She  spoke 
emphatically. 

"In  my  youth  I  could  not  afford  passion,  it  was 
too  costly." 

"There  are  passions  that  become  lucrative  with 
the  years,"  she  spoke  significantly. 

"It  has  been  my  misfortune  not  to  know  them.  I 
have  from  my  youth  up  been  a  man  of  many  labors 
and  few  pleasures,"  he  answered  ponderously. 

"Some  there  be  who  take  their  pleasures  sadly," 
she  replied  mockingly.  "Ah,  Governor  Johnson,  we 
are  charmed  to  have  you  join  us.  I  have  been  dying 
for  a  little  dish  of  political  gossip  and  the  Justice 


64  The  Carolinians 

disappoints  me  by  telling  me  that  he  is  only  a  poli- 
tician by  force  of  circumstance." 

•"The  force  of  circumstance  makes  geniuses, 
Madam."  The  Governor  bowed  to  the  Justice. 

"There  is  no  denying  that  in  the  Province  we  are 
all  geniuses  and  all  courtiers,"  she  chuckled.  "But, 
prithee,  tell  me  if  my  Lord  Carteret  has  been  long 
enough  out  of  his  cups  to  devise  any  assistance  for 
the  Province;  but  after  all  I  doubt  not  that  Justice 
Trott  can  give  us  fresher  news  therefrom,"  she  said, 
turning  her  shrewd  eyes  upon  him. 

"And  wherefore  I,  your  Ladyship?"  asked  the 
Justice  with  heat. 

"How  should  I  know  ?  The  workings  of  justice 
are  manifold  in  their  reach,"  she  answered  coolly, 
while  the  Governor  held  his  breath. 

"In  this  present  my  Lady  Kildare  is  as  fully 
informed  as  to  the  Proprietors'  intentions  as  am  I, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  Province,  since  the 
sources  of  information  are  equal,"  he  replied,  regain- 
ing somewhat  his  unctuous  equanimity. 

"Truth,"  said  Lady  Kildare,  seeming  suddenly  to 
have  lost  interest.  ."After  all,  you  are  far  too 
practical  a  man  to  concern  yourself  with  things  that 
lie  so  far  from  your  jurisdiction.  What  do  you 
gentlemen  say  to  a  rubber  of  whist?  Sir  Hovenden 
Walker  will  make  the  fourth.  The  young  folks  are 
all  a-love-making  to  their  hearts'  content,  and  there 
are  several  odd  guineas  burning  my  pocket." 

"Very  delighted  to  join  your  Ladyship,"  spoke  the 
Governor  with  relief. 


Wilful  Woman  65 

"Charmed  to  be  at  her  Ladyship's  service  with 
my  skill  and  my  fortune,"  said  Justice  Trott  with 
effusion. 

"I  hope  that  your  gold-pieces  may  so  prove," 
laughed  Lady  Kildare,  and  with  her  hand  in  the 
Governor's  arm  and  her  stick  a-rat-tat-tatting  on  the 
polished  floor  she  proceeded  to  the  card-room,  where 
several  tables  were  already  deep  in  ombre  and  whist. 

The  cards  were  over,  the  dances  were  ended,  the 
last  sleepy  notes  of  the  violins  had  yawned  them- 
selves into  silence,  the  candles,  fast  coming  to  their 
last  end,  guttered  to  their  death ;  the  flowers  that  had 
adorned  the  finest  rout  of  the  year  had  grown  faint 
with  the  long  hours  and  drooped  their  dissipated 
heads,  the  last  lingering  guests  said  adieu. 

Inside  the  air  was  thick  with  the  breath  of  dead 
joys ;  outside  it  was  all  a-shiver  with  the  grey  ghost 
of  the  coming  day. 

The  horses  in  the  Governor's  coach  pawed  rest- 
lessly, the  coachman  yawned  on  his  box,  the  foot- 
man, curled  up  beside  him,  dreamed  of  his  magnum 
of  rum  in  the  Jolly  Sea  Dog. 

The  Governor  stood  at  the  gate  and  patiently  held 
it  open;  Damaris  tarried  upon  the  steps,  while  Mr. 
Yonge,  with  pleasure  tempered  with  leisure,  adjusted 
her  wraps  about  her. 

Captain  Maynard,  who  had  first  been  detained  by 
a  young  lady  whose  admirers  seemed  limited,  and 
afterwards  by  Lady  Kildare  in  search  of  a  mythical 
gold-piece,  which  she  declared  to  have  dropped,  came 
upon  them  standing  there.  "Good-night !"  he  said, 
half  pausing. 


66  The  Carolinians 

"Or  rather  a  fair  good-morrow,"  said  Mr.  Yonge. 

"Nay,  let  it  still  be  night,"  said  Damaris,  since  'tis 
the  happiest  of  my  life." 

Captain  Maynard  passed  on  in  silence.  Mr. 
Yonge  bent  his  passionate  half-closed  eyes  upon 
Damaris,  his  hands  resting  heavily  the  while  upon 
the  clasp  of  her  cloak  which  his  halting  fingers  had 
been  slow  in  fastening. 

"May  I  take  that  as  an  omen?"  he  asked  tenderly. 

Damaris  drew  herself  away  with  dignity  and 
frowned. 

"As  a  reminder  that  you  are  not  in  London,  as  an 
omen  that  you  need  be  more  careful  in  future/'  she 
said  haughtily,  and  unassisted  by  him,  ran  down  the 
steps. 

Meanwhile,  at  the  gate,  the  Governor  said : 

"Wait  a  moment,  Maynard,  and  we  will  carry  you 
as  far  as  your  door." 

"Thanks,  your  Excellency,  but  I  pray  you  excuse 
me.  I  need  the  walk  after  the  close  rooms." 

The  Governor  scrutinized  his  face  surprisedly. 

"Anything  wrong  with  the  Yamassees?"  he  asked. 

"Not  to  my  knowledge.  At  last  advices  the  tribes 
were  quiet.  Good-night." 

"Good-night;  look  in  to-morrow." 

"If  your  Excellency  desires."  He  quickly  walked 
away. 

Hard  by  in  the  Watch  House  the  watch  was  cry- 
ing :  "Four  hours  of  the  morning!  All  is  well !  all 
is  well !" 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    COURAGE    OF    ANGER 

"I  see  my  hopes  must  wither  in  the  bud, 
I  see  my  favors  are  no  lasting  flower, 
I  see  that  words  will  breathe  no  better  good 
Than  loss  of  time  and  lighting  but  at  hours; 
Then  when  I  see,  then  this  I  say  therefore, 
.    That    favors,    hopes   and    words   can    blind   no   more." 

Captain  Maynard  sat  at  the  table  in  what  had 
been  the  library  of  his  father's  house,  but  which  had 
gradually  become  devoted  to  him  and  his  belongings, 
all  of  the  latter  being  visible  upon  walls  and  shelves 
betokening  the  warlike  pursuits  of  the  young  soldier. 
Between  the  book-cases  there  hung  tomahawks  and 
strings  of  wampum,  long-stemmed  pipes,  flint- 
headed  spears,  bows  with  arrows  stone  pointed, 
moccasins  of  deer  skin,  quivers  curiously  wrought  in 
feathers  and  furs,  a  gorgeous  match-coat  brilliant 
with  the  plumage  of  scarlet  tanager  and  parrakeet, 
racks  of  guns,  swords  and  cutlasses,  skins  of  otter, 
beaver  and  skunk,  hunting  knives,  horns,  antlers, 
maps  of  the  Province,  indeed  a  most  various  and 
motley  collection  of  picturesque  trophies.  It  was 
noon  of  the  day  following  Lady  Kildare's  ball,  from 
which  disastrous  festivity  Maynard  had  hastened 
home,  discarded  with  scorn  his  bravery  of  scarlet 
and  lace  and  assumed  garments  more  convenient  for 
him.  Then  had  he  betaken  himself  along  the  water 


68  The  Carolinians 

front.  With  hasty  strides  he  passed  the  Half  Moon 
and  the  Court  of  Guard,  before  which  the  night 
watch  was  being"  relieved,  and  the  last  town  patrol 
was  slipping  sleepily  from  his  horse,  yawning  noisily 
the  while.  They  both  came  to  attention  and  saluted 
the  Captain.  He  returned  their  greeting,  passing 
on  beyond  Colonel  Rhett's  house  to  Rhett's  bridge, 
where  he  kept  a  light  Indian  caique.  Then  with  the 
rising  sun  spilling  into  the  sea  its  gallons  of  fairy 
gold  on  the  right,  he  pulled  up  through  the  brave 
swell  of  the  Cooper  right  lustily,  for  his  was  one 
of  those  natures  to  whom  physical  exertion  is  the 
only  relief  under  physical  strain.  Craven's  Bastion, 
the  last  stronghold  of  the  town,  was  soon  left  behind. 
The  river  was  all  his  own  save  for  the  fluttering 
strings  of  water  fowl  flying  over,  or  an  occasional 
solitary  Indian  standing  straight  and  paddling  deftly 
across  his  caique,  in  which  lay  a  good  red  deer,  a 
basket  of  fish,  or  a  bale  of  peltry. 

It  was  not  every  man  who  would  have  hazarded 
himself  alone  on  the  river  in  those  troubled  days  of 
the  Province,  but  when  love  dwells  in  the  heart 
prudence  is  a  seldom  guest.  Maynard  had  never 
been  so  angry  before  in  his  life.  His  strongest  feel- 
ing was  one  of  resentment  against  the  vain  girl  in 
whose  power  he  had  placed  himself,  and  who  had 
been  pleased  to  treat  his  best  as  thistle-down,  to  be 
blown  away  with  an  idle  breath.  Anger  there  was 
too  against  the  man  who  had  supplanted  him ; 
against  reason  he  accused  him  of  using  means  unfair. 
Sorrow  he  had  never  known;  the  very  conception 
thereof  was  incommensurable  to  him.  What  had 
come  to  him  thus  far  was  for  the  greater  part  anger ; 


The  Courage  of  Anger  69 

that  he  understood.  That  is  young  and  human,  and 
the  familiar  spirit  of  the  strong  and  self-willed. 
Like  Jacob,  he  would  wrestle  with  the  angel,  and 
like  Jacob  he  would  not  know  with  whom  he  had 
wrestled  until  the  dawn  came.  Well  up  the  river 
he  shipped  his  oars,  stripped  off  his  clothes,  stood 
for  a  moment  hands  over  head,  firm  and  straight 
and  sinewy  as  a  savage,  then  dove  he  swiftly  behind 
the  drifting  boat,  cleaving  the  water  into  silver 
gashes  with  long,  clean  strokes.  In  and  out  of  the 
water  he  flashed  like  a  dolphin  at  play,  then  dexter- 
ously raised  himself  again,  Indian  fashion,  into  the 
frail  craft,  resumed  his  garments  and  rowed  back 
to  town.  Muscles  alive,  body  vigorous,  nerves  calm, 
he  returned  home,  and  at  noon  his  father  came  upon 
him  in  the  library  studying  his  Indian  charts  as 
zealously  as  though  he  were  that  day  to  set  forth 
to  the  wars.  Indeed,  his  mind  was  quite  decided  to 
start  upon  the  red  man's  trail,  Proprietors  or  no 
Proprietors,  money  or  no  money,  with  soldiers  or 
without  them.  In  his  own  heart,  at  this  present, 
there  being  enough  savagery  to  make  him  equal  in 
fury  to  twenty  tribes  of  barbarians. 

"Good-morning,  my  son,"  the  hale  voice  of  a  hale 
man  saluted  him  from  the  doorway. 

"Good-morning,  father."     The  younger  man  rose 
courteously,  but  his  eyes  were  glued  to  three  signifi- 
cant points  where  rested  his  sinewy  fingers. 
"Trouble  with  the  Yamassees  again?" 
"There  is  ever  trouble  with  such  vermin." 
"Starts  an  expedition  against  them?" 
"Without  money  and  without  arms?" 
"Have  the  Lords  Proprietors  made  no  response  ?" 


70  The  Carolinians 

"As  much  as  any  sensible  man  might  expect  after 
their  shameful  neglect.  Never  before  were  affairs 
so  favorable  for  crushing  the  Indians  and  establish- 
ing ourselves.  If  we  pass  the  time  the  opportunity 
is  lost.  Strife  among  themselves  has  divided  their 
forces.  There  has  likewise  been  a  fatal  plague  of 
small-pox  among  them.  Now  we  might  fight  them 
tribe  by  tribe,  instead  of  having  to  do  battle  with  a 
whole  people." 

The  older  man  drummed  upon  the  table,  his  kindly 
blue  eyes  troubled.  The  younger  returned  to  his 
study  of  the  maps.  After  a  little  the  father  spoke : 

"You  are  right,  Martin ;  there  is  nothing  to  hope 
from  the  Proprietors.  Had  they  a  heart  for  us  they 
could  not  have  denied  our  petitions.  We  have 
appealed  to  them  as  men  to  men,  as  sons  to  fathers, 
but  'tis  plain  they  have  grown  weary  of  their  dream 
of  empire  over  here,  seeing  it  brought  them  no 
harvest  of  gold.  What  will  come  of  it,  we  do  not 
know.  Negotiations  will  drag  their  tedious  course. 
Between  their  cups  and  their  gaming,  their  mis- 
tresses and  their  political  intrigues,  they  have  no 
leisure  for  us." 

"Then  should  they  have  no  power  over  us." 

"True,  but  we  cannot  help  ourselves;  the  hawk 
is  hooded  by  the  hunter." 

"It  is  infamous !" 

"Mayhap,  but  hard  words  break  no  heads." 

There  was  another  silence.  The  older  man  was 
gathering  courage  for  something  that  lay  very  near 
his  heart,  trying  to  acquire  therefor  a  diplomacy 
foreign  to  his  bluff,  downright  nature. 


The  Courage  of  Anger  71 

"My  son,"  he  spoke  directly,  in  a  voice  slightly 
uneasy.  "The  Indian  Emperor  sails  for  England 
to-morrow." 

"Will  she  bring  us  monies  ?"  asked  his  son  bitterly. 

"That  doubt  I  greatly,  but  several  goodly  men  of 
the  Province  sail  with  her." 

"Will  the  Proprietors  lend  ear  to  them  more  than 
to  those  already  gone  before?" 

"That  know  I  not.  One  may  tell  by  the  tracks 
where  a  stag  hath  lain  in  his  covert ;  one  knows  not 
whether  he  will  run  with  the  wind  or  against  it." 

"Beshrew  me,  this  stag  always  runs  with  the  wind 
of  self-interest,"  replied  the  son,  turning  over  his 
papers. 

The  father  shifted  uneasily  in  his  chair,  then  with 
a  mighty  effort  he  cleared  his  throat  and  went 
straight  to  the  mark. 

"My  son,  I  wish  that  you  were  of  that  company 
that  sails  for  England  to-morrow." 

"I  have  no  mind  to  see  London  with  its  follies 
and  its  vices.  My  duty  and  my  inclination  lie  here," 
replied  the  son  indifferently. 

"You  have  kinsmen  there  whom  it  would  rejoice 
me  for  you  to  know.  Furthermore,  travel  broadens 
a  man's  mind  and  gives  polish  to  his  manners," 
argued  the  father.  In  his  mind  he  thought  of  his 
childless  elder  brother  and  his  goodly  English  acres, 
for  with  an  Englishman's  love  of  England  it  hurt 
him  to  think  that  they  should  pass  from  the  direct 
line.  The  son  knew  well  what  was  in  his  father's 
mind;  full  often  the  old  arguments  had  been  mar- 
shalled against  him.  He  pulled  out  a  drawer  and 
fingered  among  the  papers.  He  drew  back  as  though 


72  The  Carolinians 

his  fingers  were  burnt — they  had  touched  upon  a 
skein  of  scarlet  silk  that  he  had  slipped  from  Dama 
ris's  work  that  day  in  the  garden.  Crushing  it  in  a 
handful  of  papers,  he  stepped  over  to  the  fireplace 
and  set  tinder  to  it.  In  the  daytime  it  is  easier  to 
be  commonplace — we  then  do  in  a  matter-of-fact 
manner  those  things  which  we  contemplate  at  night 
as  tragedies  and  surround  with  Delphic  rites. 

The  old  man  flushed  a  little.  It  hurt  him  to  think 
that  his  son  should  treat  indifferently  what  meant 
so  much  to  him.  With  a  man's  reasonable  ambition 
for  his  son  he  wanted  him  to  go  back  to  the  old 
country.  He,  in  the  hot  blood  of  youth,  had  thrown 
in  his  fortunes  with  the  Colony ;  with  her  he  would 
hold,  come  what  may;  but  with  his  son  it  were 
different.  He  felt  himself  responsible  that  his  son 
had  been  born  here;  he  held  no  sanguine  view  of 
the  advancement  of  the  Colony;  he  wanted  his  son 
to  return  to  England  and  enjoy  what  might  come 
to  him. 

The  young  man  watched  the  last  streaks  of  crim- 
son and  white  turn  to  a  blackening  crispness,  then 
he  resumed  his  seat  and  the  examination  of  his 
papers,  seeing  that  he  considered  the  matter  closed 
with  his  father. 

"My  son,  I  have  never  asked  anything  of  you 
before.  You  have  given  your  manhood  to  the 
Province  thus  far.  I  would  ask  of  you  to  spend  a 
few  months  with  my  mother  and  my  people,  while 
things  are  at  a  standstill  here,  but  it  seems  that  a 
father  has  no  claims." 

Surprised  at  the  note  of  pain  in  his  father's  voice, 
the  Captain  looked  up  quickly. 


The  Courage  of  Anger  73 

"I  have  never  thought  of  your  looking  at  it  in  that 
light,  father,"  he  replied  gently.  "I  but  considered 
it  in  the  light  of  my  duty  to  the  Province,  and  my 
lack  of  inclination  for  the  pleasures  of  city  life,  to 
which  I  have  not  been  bred  and  for  which  I  am 
unfitted." 

"You  are  bred  a  gentleman,  and  a  gentleman  is 
fitted  for  all  that  becomes  a  gentleman,"  answered 
the  father  stoutly. 

Captain  Maynard  stretched  out  his  feet,  the  mud 
of  the  river  bank  still  clinging  to  his  shoes,  thrust  his 
hands  to  the  bottom  of  his  pockets  and  for  the  first 
time  gave  his  father's  proposition  serious  considera- 
tion. Yesterday  he  would  not  have  regarded  it  for 
a  moment,  but  life  is  a  kaleidoscope — we  look  with 
joy  upon  the  design  that  comes  to  us,  with  the  turn 
of  a  hand  the  pieces  shift,  break  up  and  change,  a 
new  combination  is  formed.  All  of  his  life  hereto- 
fore, bred  in  the  strenuous  time  of  the  Colony,  duty 
had  bounded  his  horizon ;  to-day  expediency  was 
setting  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  He  seemed 
a  new  man  to  himself  as  he  sat  there  turning  over 
his  father's  proposition.  That  he  should  be  consid- 
ering it  was  a  surprise  to  himself.  He  had  not 
lived  long  enough  to  know  how  short  a  time  it  takes 
for  a  man  to  be  born  again.  There  is  no  fiercer  fire 
than  anger,  no  swifter  crucible  than  love  for  a 
woman.  He  looked  upon  the  life  that  lay  before 
him  in  the  Colony — it  did  not  invite  him.  Therein 
could  he  never  get  beyond  the  smile  of  a  woman's 
face,  the  sound  of  her  laughter ;  also  the  little  fortified 
town  was  all  too  narrow  to  hold  Mr.  Yonge  and 
himself  in  the  bonds  of  peace.  He  knew  that  his 


74  The  Carolinians 

father  spoke  truly  when  he  declared  that  there  was 
no  speedy  prospect  of  aid  from  the  Board,  nor 
expeditions  against  the  Indians.  He  knew  that  the 
reasons  he  gave  were  good  reasons  to  the  father; 
why  should  they  not  be  so  to  the  son  ?  There  seemed 
to  be  something  beyond  in  his  father's  thoughts  but 
he  found  it  too  burdensome  to  exploit  in  his  present 
mopd. 

/And  the  father,  sitting  there  in  that  pitiless  help- 
lessness that  comes  to  fathers  when  they  realize  their 
lack  of  power  over  the  sons  of  their  flesh,  wondered 
what  the  decision  would  be,  and  trembled  to  hear  it. 
At  last  Captain  Maynard  raised  his  head ;  the  brave 
old  face  opposite  whitened  a  little. 

"I  will  go,  father,  if  it  pleases  you,"  he  spoke 
simply. 

Mr.  Maynard  sprang  forward,  his  bluff  face 
aglow,  a  suspicious  shine  in  his  kindly  eyes. 

"Fore  the  Lord,  Martin,  you  are  the  right  stuff; 
true  Maynard  to  the  marrow !"  he  cried  warmly, 
wringing  his  son's  hand  energetically.  And  even  as 
his  father  thanked  him,  his  son  felt  himself  to  be  a 
smaller  man. 

"And  your  Uncle  Walter  is  a  man  of  influence  in 
his  shire,  and  a  friend  of  Lord  Cantrey,  who  is  neck 
and  neck  with  Lord  George  Berkeley;  and  who 
knows  but  that  he  may  do  you  some  service  in  bring- 
ing you  to  the  Proprietors  ?" 

"Yes,  father." 

"And  now  you  must  quick  to  the  Governor  and 
ask  a  furlough." 

"I  will  send  him  a  letter  straightway." 


The  Courage  of  Anger  75 

"Egad!  too  busy  to  bid  Mistress  Damaris  fare- 
well ?  Zounds !  but  you  are  a  slashing  blade  and  a 
chip  of  the  old  block.  You  will  hold  your  pace  with 
the  best  of  them.  Marry,  you  catch  the  London 
fever  fast.  And  a  wise  lad  you  are  to  burn  your 
ships  behind  you,  nor  let  any  bright  eyes  stand 
between  you  and  the  beauties  of  St.  James,"  he 
chuckled  gayly.  "Don't  be  looking  into  the  eyes  of 
Nelly  Gwynn's  ilk,  though ;  such  are  the  pits  of  hell. 
Young  blood  must  have  its  fling,  boy,  but  fling  like 
a  gentleman." 

"I  will  try  to  live  as  you  have  taught  me,  an  honest 
gentleman,"  replied  the  young  man  quietly  as  he 
sorted  his  papers. 

"And,  Martin,  when  you  are  passing  through  King 
street  stop  at  the  Bell  Tavern  and  make  yourself 
known  to  the  great  Dean.  He  consorts  there  with 
the  heads  of  the  Tories  and  is  a  man  of  most  enjoy- 
able conversation.  And  be  sure  you  look  in  at  the 
Bull's  Head  and  Wills  and  Buttons,  and  a  right  jolly 
company  of  blades  you  will  find,  and  a  fair  genteel 
sprinkling  of  wits — Mr.  Steele  and  Mr.  Addison,  as 
well  as  those  of  smallish  fame  but  ripe  conversation." 

"As  you  say,  father,"  assented  his  son  gravely, 
affixing  the  while  a  seal  upon  a  packet  of  papers 
addressed  to  His  Excellency  Gov.  Robert  Johnson. 

"And  as  to  clothes,  boy,  just  carry  your  warm 
sea-togs.  When  you  reach  London  you  won't  want 
provincial  fashions ;  egad,  you  must  ruffle  with  the 
best.  And  damme,  my  boy,  I  have  not  been  so 
happy  since  I  left  the  old  home  myself.  Your 
grandam  will  be  wanting  to  take  you  upon  her  knee. 
Take  her  a  tomahawk  and  show  her  the  sort  of  toy 


76  The   Carolinians 

you  have  cut  your  teeth  upon.  We'll  have  up  a 
bottle  of  brandy  and  drink  to  your  voyage ;  damme, 
we  won't  drink  it  in  nigger  rum.  Fore  God,  here 
comes  the  Governor  himself;  'tis  well  chanced;  you 
will  be  spared  the  writing.  I  will  go  to  the  gate  to 
greet  him." 

Bustling  with  excitement,  voluble  with  pleasure, 
he  rushed  forth. 

Martin  Maynard  sprang  to  his  feet  and  stood  with 
his  hands  resting  heavily  upon  the  back  of  a  chair. 
For  ten  minutes  stood  he  thus,  while  from  the  porch 
beyond  came  the  eager,  hearty  tones  of  his  fathen 
and  the  occasional  quiet  speech  of  the  Governor. 
When  the  two  elders  entered  the  room  the  young 
man  moved  slowly  a  step  forward,  the  Governor 
looking  squarely  into  his  eyes. 

"So,  Captain  Maynard,  your  father  informs  me 
that  you  have  made  a  sudden  decision  to  go  to 
London,"  he  spoke  coldly. 

"Subject  always  to  the  pleasure  of  your  Excel- 
lency," he  answered  quietly. 

Again  the  Governor  looked  at  him  sharply, 
then  he  stepped  forward,  rested  his  hand  upon  his 
shoulder  and  spoke  gently : 

"Go  and  God  speed,  my  boy.     It  were  better  so." 

"I  knew  that  his  Excellency  would  approve," 
cried  the  father  delightedly.  The  son  reached  out 
his  hand  to  the  Governor  and  said  not  a  word. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THOSE   THAT   GO   DOWN   IN    SHIPS 

"You   must   not  think 

That  we  are  made  of  stuff  so  flat  and  dull 
That  we  can  let  our  beard  be  shook  with  danger 
And   think   it  pastime." 

— Hamlet. 

The  good  ship  The  Indian  Emperor,  commanded 
by  Capt.  Robert  Clarke,  as  able  a  seaman  and  genial 
host  as  ever  stepped  the  deck  of  a  merchantman, 
slipped  her  moorings  at  the  pier  just  at  sunset,  and 
with  all  sails  set  dropped  down  with  the  tide  to  the 
Bar.  There  came  she  to  anchor,  and  with  sail-wings 
folded,  rocked  herself  softly  to  sleep  in  the  white 
moonlight,  awaiting  the  dawn  and  the  flood-tide  to 
begin  her  journey  across  the  trackless  sea. 

In  her  hold  she  carried  the  wealth  of  the  Province, 
pitch,  tar,  staves,  lumber,  peltry  and  rice.  In  her 
cabin  some  of  the  gentry  of  the  Colony,  among  them 
Mr.  Samuel  Wragg,  worthy  councilor,  and  Captain 
Maynard,  of  noteworthy  fame  in  the  wars  with  the 
natives.  A  black  silence  rose  the  great  hulk  above 
the  water  line,  little  waves  lisped  a  strange  language 
about  her  English  keel.  The  step  of  the  watch 
broke  the  quiet  of  her  deserted  decks,  his  only  com- 
panion in  the  waste  of  water  and  sky  the  light  from 


78  The  Carolinians 

the  quaint   watch-tower  which   glimmered   faintly 
through  the  darkness  like  a  star  close  to  setting. 

So  lay  the  peaceful  night  upon  the  bay  and  upon 
the  town,  but  with  the  day  a  great  terror  came.  As 
calm  as  yester-eve  lay  city  and  offing.  Eight  ships 
stood  about  the  Cooper  water  front  on  eve  of 
departure.  On  the  wharves  a  scene  busy  and  pic- 
turesque. Laughing  negroes,  gay-turbaned,  rings 
in  their  ears,  bodies  and  limbs  bare,  trundled  their 
barrows  to  and  fro.  Indians  sleek,  swift-footed, 
sinister,  moved  quickly  along  with  packs  of  peltry 
upon  their  bare,  mahogany  shoulders,  their  chests 
tattooed  in  blue  and  white,  their  lithe  limbs  moving 
straitly  under  their  body-cloths  of  fringed  deer- 
skin or  trousers  of  cotton.  A  bearded  Custom  House 
official,  in  the  scarlet  and  gold  of  the  King's  service, 
swore  roundly  at  a  crestfallen  Dutch  skipper  whose 
papers  he  held.  A  West  Indian  mulattress  in  striped 
cotton  of  indigo  and  white,  her  stately  bust  and 
shoulders  bare  and  smooth  as  bronze,  chaffered 
eagerly  with  a  sailor  over  a  basket  of  dewy  berries. 
A  half-drunken  sailor  made  his  way  by  short  tacks 
among  the  piles  of  mahogany  lumber  from  the  New 
Indies.  Everywhere  the  mild  air  was  pungent  with 
produce — the  clean,  wholesome  smell  of  rosin  and 
tar  from  the  barrels  on  the  wharf,  the  sharp  tang 
of  molasses  as  it  oozed  from  its  casks  in  the  sunshine, 
the  breath  of  the  puncheons  of  rum,  the  mellow 
aroma  of  Madeira  just  unloaded  from  a  privateer, 
and  bales  of  hides  ill  smelling.  Farther  on  clean 
barrels  of  rice,  packages  of  indigo,  bundles  of  pal- 
metto brooms,  and  cases  of  candles  made  of  myrtle 
berries,  the  rollicking  song  of  an  Irishman  aloft  in 


Those  That  Go  Down  In  Ships  79 

the  rigging,  a  brawny  Scot  slopping  off  the  deck,  the 
oaths  of  a  tar  sleeping  off  his  potations  soused  by 
the  Scot  with  a  pailful  of  salt  water,  the  rattle  of 
chains,  the  creaking  of  cordage,  the  flapping  of  dry- 
ing sails,  the  wail  of  a  child  in  the  arms  of  a  sad-eyed 
woman  gazing  seaward  from  the  pier  head,  two 
sailors  quarreling  over  a  game  of  dice  behind  a  bale 
of  goods,  an  idle  guard  astride  of  a  cask,  smoking  a 
long-stemmed  pipe. 

Suddenly  the  idle  guard,  who  seemed  to  see  noth- 
ing, shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand  and  gazed  intently 
seaward.  There  a  small  craft  ran  in  ahead  of  the 
wind.  She  seemed  a  ship's  long-boat  carrying  a 
sail,  in  her  more  than  a  full  crew  of  men,  bearded 
and  uncouth.  Among  them,  as  the  boat  ran  her 
nose  into  the  wharf,  the  guard  recognized  Mr. 
Marks,  a  resident  of  the  town,  who  had  yesterday 
set  sail  in  The  Indian  Emperor.  His  heart  rose  to 
his  mouth,  he  flung  down  his  pipe  and  ran  forward. 
"Not  so  fast,  my  hearties !"  he  cried  as  they  would 
make  fast  a  rope.  Whereupon  Mr.  Marks,  urged 
thereto  by  his  strange  and  swarthy  companions, 
called  out,  "Let  us  land,  Sergeant  Mays;  then  shall 
you  know  what  this  signifies." 

Mr.  Marks  stepped  first  upon  shore,  after  him  as 
ugly  a  band  of  ruffians  as  ever  shamed  God's  clean 
blue  sea. 

"Pirates !"  the  cry  went  on  from  mouth  to  mouth, 
gaining  in  terror.  The  busy  groups  broke  up,  idlers 
grew  alert.  There  was  hurrying  and  scurrying 
hither  and  thither,  agony  and  alarm.  From  the 
Watch  House  the  ready  bell  clanged  forth  the  loud- 
voiced  terror  above  the  peaceful  town. 


80  The   Carolinians 

"The  Indian  Emperor  has  been  taken  prisoner. 
Some  of  the  villains  come  hither  with  a  proposition 
to  the  Council,"  said  Mr.  Marks,  in  his  voice  con- 
centrated anger  and  shame.  He  looked  scornfully 
at  the  swarthy  robbers,  who  smiled  in  their  beards 
and  spat  contemptuously  upon  the  earth. 

Gay  enough  were  the  ruffians  in  stolen  booty, 
costly  store  from  English  merchantmen  and  Spanish 
galleon.  Richly  as  courtiers  were  they  attired  in 
frock  coats  of  brocades  and  breeches  of  satin ;  across 
their  breasts  silken  sashes  hung  with  pistols;  two 
good  broad-swords  wore  they  each,  and  plumed  hats 
dangled  their  limp  feathers  about  their  lawless  heads. 

The  crowd  fell  back  as  it  does  to  allow  the  passing 
of  a  gallows  cart,  and  through  it  they  swaggered; 
Mr.  Marks,  their  unwilling  guide,  looks  of  deadly 
hatred  and  imprecations  pursuing  them.  With 
arrogant  bravado  they  walked  through  the  town, 
leering  upon  the  excited  crowds,  laughing  loudly  at 
the  tumult  of  pealing  bells,  clanking  swords,  the 
haste  of  flying  feet  and  the  hoarse  cries  that  passed 
on  from  voice  to  voice  the  story  of  their  coming,  told 
with  the  varying  exaggerations  of  excitement  and 
terror.  Soldiers  flocked  toward  the  Guard  House, 
buckling  on  their  accoutrements  as  they  ran;  here 
and  there  an  officer  of  the  Guard  galloped  by  in 
scarlet  uniform;  a  worthy  councilor,  hatless,  pulled 
on  his  coat  as  he  rushed  into  the  street;  there  was 
a  slamming  of  gates  and  a  barring  of  doors;  and 
between  indrawn  blinds  women  peered  out  curiously 
into  the  street,  the  while  they  held  their  breath  with 
terror.  Into  the  library,  where  the  Governor  sat 


Those  That  Go  Down  In  Ships  81 

writing,  Damaris  rushed,  crying  excitedly,  "Father !" 
"Yes,"  he  answered,  without  raising  his  eyes.  She 
was  not  altogether  in  favor  at  this  present,  seeing 
that  he  cherished  a  resentment  against  her  since  he 
had  seen  the  brave  young  Captain  with  his  calm 
assumption  of  indifference. 

"Father!"  she  cried,  putting  her  arm  about  his 
shoulder,  and  this  time  something  in  her  tone 
aroused  him.  Looking  up  he  saw  her  terrified  face 
and  lips  that  trembled,  but  before  she  could  speak  a 
coast  guard,  who  had  followed  fast  upon  her,  cried 
breathlessly : 

"Pirates,  your  Excellency!  Pirates  abroad  in 
the  town !  Pirates  have  taken  The  Indian  Emperor, 
and  even  now  we  are  in  their  hands !" 

"Bring  you  truth  or  rumor  ?"  asked  the  Governor, 
jumping  to  his  feet  and  reaching  for  his  sword. 

"Truth,  your  Excellency,  by  our  Lord !  Hearken 
to  the  bells  and  the  tumult.  Even  now  ten  of  the 
villains  are  come  into  town,  bringing  with  them  Mr. 
Marks,  also  a  proposition  for  the  Council." 

"The  daring  robbers;  they  shall  pay  with  their 
lives  for  this  outrage,"  cried  the  Governor,  his  face 
burning  with  anger,  as  he  secured  his  pistols  with 
steady  hands.  "Come !"  he  called,  starting  forward ; 
"we  will  hang  them  higher  than  their  own  yard-arms 
and  leave  them  to  the  fowls  of  the  air." 

"Let  me  go  with  you,  father,"  pleaded  Damaris, 
who  had  taken  down  a  pistol  and  was  running  beside 
him. 

"You  are  mad,  child ;  this  is  no  time  for  women !" 

"Father!" 

"Hinder  me  not,  Damaris;  remain  quietly  within." 


82  The  Carolinians 

"Do  you  think  that  the  worst  is  true?" 

"God  forbid !  I  will  send  you  tidings  straightway 
should  there  be  more  to  learn." 

She  had  come  to  the  gate  clinging  to  his  arm.  He 
loosened  her  hands  and  kissed  her,  saying : 

"Remember,  you  come  of  a  soldierly  race,  my 
daughter." 

"Yes,  father,  I  will  remember,  but  waiting  is 
harder  than  fighting." 

"Sergeant  McLeod,"  spoke  the  Governor  to  one 
who  awaited  him  at  the  gate,  "I  leave  you  in  com- 
mand here.  See  to  it  that  no  one  passes  within  or 
without  these  gates." 

"Verra  good,  your  Excellency." 

The  Governor  swiftly  rode  away.  A  moment 
later  the  iron  gates  were  barred,  the  inner  doors  of 
studded  oak  fast  bolted. 

With  flying  feet  Damaris  entered  the  house  and 
climbed  the  stairways  to  the  attic,  the  last  flight  dark 
and  crooked  and  narrow.  Through  rubbish  and 
cob-webs  she  crept,  half  stooping,  to  a  bull's-eye 
window  that  overlooked  the  city  and  the  sea.  Below 
it  lay  the  town,  up  to  h'er  rose  its  faint,  disturbed 
.  murmur ;  but  of  what  transpired  she  could  see  little 
because  of  the  clustering  trees.  Seaward  she  looked 
with  straining  eyes,  but  calm  it  lay  in  sunny  peace, 
giving  no  token  of  deeds  of  bloodshed  in  the  offing. 

Down  to  the  garden  again  she  hurried  and  during 
the  next  two  hours  of  suspense,  like  a  bird  beating 
against  its  prison  bars,  she  fluttered  round  and  round 
the  walls  seeking  egress.  Desperate  at  last  with 
anxiety,  she  donned  bonnet  and  mantle,  then  with 


Those  That  Go  Down  In  Ships  83 

a  fine  assumption  of  authority  she  came  to  Sergeant 
McLeod. 

"Open,  Sergeant !"  she  spoke  commandingly.  The 
grizzled  Scot  regarded  her  quizzically  from  under  his 
shaggy  brows.  In  his  Gaelic  soul  were  two  Sassen- 
ach idols  enthroned — the  Governor  and  his  daughter. 
How  to  hold  faith  with  the  one  and  favor  the  other 
was  a  knotty  problem. 

"The  Mistress  would  na  be  asking  what  I  would 
be  verra  sorry  to  deny  her,"  he  spoke  softly. 

"I  must  pass  through !"  she  spoke  peremptorily. 

"Nae,  Mistress,  ye  would  na  be  sae  heartless  as  to 
require  me  to  do  that  verra  same  thing  that  would 
make  the  Governor  kilt  me  up  in  a  tow.  My  mither 
always  told  me  I  had  a  lang  craig  for  the  gibbet." 

"I  must  go  into  the  town !" 

"I  wot  weel  there  be  many  callants  there,  Mistress, 
as  would  gie  their  lives  for  a  glint  o'  your  bonny 
een,  but  the  town  is  full  of  corbies  and  reiving 
villains,  and  it  would  na  be  so  verra  agreeable  to 
your  constitution." 

"Open,  Sergeant!" 

"Ochon,  that  I  suld  deny  a  lady's  request  is  sair 
greeting  to  my  hieland  soul.  I  am  a  puir  body  and 
come  of  an  unchancey  generation." 

"But  you  will  not  deny  me,  Sergeant  McLeod, 
when  I  tell  you  that  for  my  life's  happiness  I  must 
pass,"  she  pleaded. 

"A  verra  pretty  hieland  chiel  I  suld  look,  kilted  up 
in  a  tow,  the  hoodie  crows  making  free  with  my 
constitution,"  he  replied  impassively,  gazing  sky- 
ward. 


84  The  Carolinians 

"I  will  tell  my  father  that  I  made  you  open,"  she 
pleaded. 

"I  am  a  puir  hieland  body,  Mistress,  but  my  word 
is  my  ain  to  make  or  to  break.  I  wadna  let  a  lassie's 
kirtle  stand  atween  me  and  my  flogging.  Never  a 
man  of  the  Clachan  McLeod  broke  faith  with  his 
chief ;  but  suld  there  be  any  other  small  thing  ye  suld 
be  asking,  sic  as  my  life  in  any  honorable  cause  what- 
effer,  it  is  a  small  thing  and  I  wadna  stand  a  moment 
for  my  ain  risk." 

Damaris  turned  away,  sighing  hopelessly.  Full 
well  she  realized  that  Ailsa  Craig  itself  could  not  be 
more  obdurate. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  high  chamber,  where  the  Coun- 
cil had  been  so  hastily  assembled,  a  very  momentous 
scene  was  being  enacted. 

In  his  chair  of  state  upon  the  dais  sat  the  Gov- 
ernor; duly  in  their  seats  the  Council  of  Seven,  one 
member  only  being  absent  and  that  Mr.  Samuel 
Wragg,  now  in  the  hands  of  the  pirates.  Before 
them  stood  Mr.  Marks,  a  strong  agitation  possessing 
him. 

In  the  light  of  the  fair  spring  day  that  came 
streaming  in  through  the  open  casements  of  the 
narrow,  arched  windows,  the  faces  of  the  men 
showed  angry  and  resolute.  They  were  men  of 
strenuous  mould,  not  lightly  to  be  trifled  with. 

"Speak,  Mr.  Marks;  you  have  our  permission  to 
deliver  your  message,"  spoke  the  Governor.  Stand- 
ing, he  towered  above  them;  angry  dispute  ceased; 
silence  fell  upon  the  excited  assembly;  Mr.  Marks 
stepped  forth  and  told  his  story. 


Those  That  Go  Down  In  Ships  85 

"It  was  the  third  watch  of  the  morning,  your 
Honor,  when  suddenly  there  came  a  cry,  and  out  of 
the  darkness  a  tumult  arose.  Rushing  upon  deck 
we  found  ourselves  between  two  pirate  ships,  forty 
guns  trained  upon  us.  'Surrender!'  cried  the 
pirates.  'Never,  as  long  as  a  man  lives  to  fight!' 
answered  Captain  Clarke.  Straightway  we  armed 
and  mustered  our  forces.  Then  it  was  that  the 
piti fulness  of  our  defense  came  upon  us — we  were 
but  a  handful  of  men  against  two  ships  packed  with 
desperate  villains,  well  armed.  Even  as  we  sought 
to  arm  ourselves,  the  robbers  swarmed  over  our 
bulwarks  with  boarding-pikes,  cutlasses  and  knives, 
overpowered  us  right  speedily  and  put  us  into  irons. 
The  pirates  proceeded  to  possess  themselves  of  all 
monies,  and  of  such  provisions  as  came  seasonable 
to  their  hands.  Then,  bethinking  themselves  that 
they  stood  in  need  of  certain  medicines  which  they 
could  not  procure  from  ports  because  of  their  nefar- 
ious practice,  they  fell  upon  the  plan  of  sending  up 
some  of  their  number  and  demanding  a  chest  of 
drugs  to  the  value  of  four  or  five  hundred  pounds. 
Should  your  Excellency  refuse  these  insolent 
demands,  or  offer  violence  to  their  emissaries,  they 
threaten  straightway  to  murder  all  of  their  prisoners, 
send  up  their  heads  to  the  Governor,  and  set  fire  to 
the  ships.  So  stands  the  matter,  your  Excellency. 
At  the  Bar  of  Charles  Town  lies  the  good  ship 
Indian  Emperor,  with  the  black  flag  flying  at  her 
mast-head;  on  either  side  lie  the  Queen  Anne's 
Revenge,  of  forty  guns,  manned  by  Black  Beard 
himself,  and  the  Revenge,  under  Richards ;  also  hard 
by  a  sloop  called  the  Adventure,  commanded  by  one 


86  The   Carolinians 

Hands.  Upon  the  Queen  Anne's  Revenge  sails 
Stede  Bonnet,  also  a  company  of  as  redoubtable 
villains  as  ever  swung  hanger,  and  in  capture  they 
hold  several  sloops  and  two  junks  taken  hereabouts. 
So  as  your  Honor  will  see,  we  were  not  in  condition 
to  make  any  reasonable  defense,  but  must  needs  be 
penned  up  like  swine.  May  every  mother's  curse  of 
them  speedily  swing  on  good  English  hemp !" 

"Amen,  so  be  it !"  echoed  his  angry  hearers. 

Discussion  waxed  excited  and  angry.  Some  were 
for  sending  the  medicines  with  the  greatest  dispatch ; 
others  for  withholding  them,  come  what  may, 
because  of  the  insolence  of  the  demand  and  the  out- 
rageous effrontery  of  the  cut-throats  who  swaggered 
about  the  town  with  insulting  bravado,  while  the 
hands  that  would  have  swung  them  high  upon  the 
gallows  were  tied  because  of  regard  for  the  prisoners. 

The  life  of  one  man  upon  that  vessel  was  of 
peculiar  interest  to  three  of  that  Council,  and  about 
him  centered  their  thoughts  most  anxiously,  and  that 
the  young  Captain  of  Indian  fame. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  Governor,  rising — and  as 
always,  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  the  tumult  sub- 
sided— "truly  was  never  body  of  Councilors  so 
hardly  placed  betwixt  righteous  revenge  and  duty  to 
our  fellow-townsmen.  God  help  us  to  speak  reason- 
ably and  to  act  wisely  in  the  present  sore  strait.  On 
the  one  hand  stands  the  demand  of  a  band  of 
infamous  robbers  who  prey  upon  our  commerce  and 
harry  our  land.  The  demand  is  an  offense  to  our 
courage,  an  insult  to  our  honor,  a  stench  to  our  pride. 
On  the  other  hand,  should  we  refuse  we  have  upon 
our  heads  the  blood  of  our  townsmen.  To  me  there 


Those  That  Go  Down  In  Ships  87 

is  no  choice.  Revenge,  injury  and  anger  are  but  as 
the  mists  of  the  morning  compared  with  the  lives 
that  are  in  danger.  Shall  we  send  the  chests, 
gentlemen?" 

"Never,  while  there  is  a  sword-arm  left  in  our 
midst !"  cried  one,  springing  to  his  feet  and  drawing 
his  sword. 

Then  were  the  swords  of  all  drawn,  eyes  flashed 
angrily,  and  men  breathed  heavily.  Again  above 
the  tumult  rose  the  Governor's  voice,  silently  the 
swords  were  sheathed. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  asked,  "is  revenge  more  honor- 
able than  justice?" 

There  was  a  portentous  silence,  in  which  each 
man  thought  his  own  thoughts,  yet  dominated  some- 
what by  the  quiet  power  of  the  one  calm  man  among 
them,  they  were  gradually  submitting  to  his  just 
conclusion. 

Francis  Yonge  drew  out  his  snuff-box  and  took 
a  pinch  with  hands  that  trembled  a  little,  spilling 
the  dust  over  his  Mechlin  ruffles.  To  him  the 
tragedy  within  the  Bar  resolved  itself  into  one  face — 
that  of  his  helpless  rival ;  for  whatever  his  gay  insou- 
ciance and  Mistress  Damaris's  moods,  he  did  not 
lightly  esteem  the  standing  of  that  same  rival.  It 
would  be  easy  to  kindle  anew  the  rightful  passion 
of  those  assembled,  to  accomplish  their  righteous 
purpose,  in  the  doing  of  which  all  the  chances  of 
Captain  Maynard  in  love  and  war  would  be  forever 
ended. 

Jonathan  Skrine  thought  also  of  the  young  Cap- 
tain, thought  of  him  as  a  man  beloved  by  the  one 
woman  in  the  world  whom  he  adored  absolutely,  and 


88  The  Carolinians 

so  strengthened  he  himself  in  the  resolve  to  act  for 
her  happiness. 

Francis  Yonge  arose.  There  was  a  reckless  look 
in  his  handsome  face,  feverish  daring  in  his  mocking 
eyes. 

"By  my  oath,  we  will  not  submit  to  these  insolent 
robbers !"  he  cried  impetuously. 

Into  the  slumbering  mass  he  had  flung  the  spark 
that  reignited  it.  The  angry,  revengeful  clamor 
broke  out  anew. 

"  'Noblesse  oblige,'  gentlemen,"  spoke  the  Gov- 
ernor quietly.  He  folded  his  arms  and  looked  full 
into  the  eyes  of  Mr.  Yonge,  who,  with  sword  drawn, 
incited  his  companions  to  their  mad  revenge. 

For  the  moment  Francis  Yonge  gave  back  the 
look  with  haughty  daring,  then  his  glance  wavered 
and  he  shivered  slightly.  The  moment  after  he  had 
sprung  upon  the  stand  beside  the  Governor,  and  low- 
ering his  sword  cried  heartily : 

"The  Governor  is  right,  gentlemen ;  we  will  stand 
beside  his  Excellency.  Now  stand  we  in  the  pirate's 
power,  our  revenge  comes  later.  And  it  please  your 
Excellency,  I  have  a  most  proper  knowledge  of 
drugs.  Will  you  appoint  me  your  apothecary?"  he 
ended  with  a  light  laugh. 

The  reaction  took  place,  the  tension  was  relaxed; 
a  laugh,  albeit  a  somewhat  unmerry  one,  went  round 
the  hall. 

"How  have  the  mighty  fallen !"  groaned  Mr. 
Skrine,  but  his  face  shone. 

"Most  gladly  do  I  appoint  you  my  Knight  of  the 
Burning  Pestle,  Mr.  Yonge."  There  was  deep  feel- 


Those  That  Go  Down  In  Ships  89 

ing  in  the  Governor's  voice.  "To  you  I  leave  the 
matter." 

"The  Devil  turned  saint,"  replied  Yonge,  laugh- 
ing lightly  and  avoiding  the  Governor's  eye.  "May- 
hap I  may  mix  a  portion  of  poison  in  the  healing 
drugs  for  the  cut-throats !" 

A  few  minutes  sufficed  to  complete  the  arrange- 
ments. The  chest  of  medicines  was  unanimously 
agreed  upon,  then  the  Council  adjourned,  for  all  were 
eager  to  be  abroad  to  learn  the  pirates'  movements. 

Out  of  the  hall  beside  Francis  Yonge  walked  the 
Governor,  with  shining  eyes  and  head  uplifted. 

"The  Devil  is  dead,"  said  Yonge  airily,  smiling 
upon  Jonathan  Skrine,  who  followed  his  friend  with 
canine  faithfulness,  mopping  his  bland  brow  and 
saying  devoutly : 

"I  never  had  the  courage  to  be  a  man,  but  I  know 
one  when  I  see  him,  or  I'm  not  a  Dutchman,  God  be 
praised !" 

"You  are  a  psalm-singing  Roundhead !"  laughed 
Yonge. 

In  the  open  the  Governor  drew  a  deep  breath. 

"By  my  oath,  the  iron  of  this  day  has  entered  my 
soul !"  he  spoke  bitterly.  "But  by  the  grace  of  God 
we  have  done  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of !"  His  eyes 
rested  kindly  upon  Francis  Yonge. 

"The  Devil  is  dead,"  replied  Yonge,  with  a  quiz- 
zical smile.  "But  mayhap  his  son  reigns  in  his 
stead!" 

"The  son  of  the  Devil  has  no  cloven  hoofs !"  re- 
plied the  Governor  significantly.  "Good-morning, 
gentlemen;  I  will  go  down  to  the  wharf  and  see  if 
new  tidings  there  may  be  gathered." 


90  The  Carolinians 

Francis  Yonge  stood  watching  his  retreating  fig- 
ure with  puzzled  eyes,  whistling  softly.  "What  a 
fool  he  can  make  of  a  man,"  he  said  to  himself. 
"Marry,  I  feel  like  a  shriven  saint !"  Then  he  shook 
himself  hard.  "Come  along,  Schnapps,  we  will  hie 
us  away  and  measure  the  poison  for  our  worthy  sea- 
dogs." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  WING  OF  OCCASION 

"Nay,  certainly,  I  know  the  ways  of  women;  they  won't  when  thou  wilt, 
and  when  thou  won't  they  are  passionately  fond." 

— Terentius. 

.The  day  wore  on  to  sultry  afternoon.  Spent  with 
anxiety  and  the  sickening  horror  of  a  possible  some- 
thing, Damaris  threw  herself  down  exhausted  upon 
a  garden  bench.  Suddenly  she  shivered  and  sprang 
up;  it  was  the  same  bench  where  she  had  sat  with 
Captain  Maynard  those  idle  spring  mornings.  She 
felt  as  though  she  were  sitting  upon  a  coffin.  She 
walked  to  the  side  of  the  garden  that  ran  along  the 
street.  Against  it  grew  an  oleander ;  she  tried  it,  but 
its  drooping  branches  succumbed  limply  under  her 
slight  weight;  next  she  tried  to  climb  an  orange 
tree,  but  the  sharp  thorns  tore  her  cruelly ;  far  down 
in  the  corner  she  spied  a  pomegranate — its  limbs 
were  brittle  and  ill  disposed  to  yield  her  a  foothold, 
but  she  managed  to  raise  herself  till  her  head  was 
lifted  above  the  wall,  and  there,  retaining  her  posi- 
tion hardly,  she  remained  scanning  the  street  with 
straining  eyes. 

A  long  waiting,  but  never  a  passer-by.  Then 
Damaris  made  a  bold  resolution  and  straightway 
proceeded  to  put  it  into  execution.  First  she  took 


92  The  Carolinians 

from  her  belt  the  pistol  she  had  secured.  She  had 
not  taken  the  precaution  to  observe  that  it  was 
hammerless,  and  in  its  innocuous  condition  she  de- 
posited it  gently  upon  the  wall.  Then  from  her 
waist  she  unwound  a  silken  sash,  one  end  of  which 
she  made  fast  to  the  pomegranate  trunk.  Upon  the 
crest  of  the  wall  bristled  the  sharp  inset  of  glass, 
which  formed  a  cruel  hindrance.  Fertile  in  device, 
Damaris  removed  her  shoe  and  with  its  red  heel 
hammered  zealously  upon  it.  Suddenly  she  paused. 
Coming  toward  her  with  swaggering  gait  and  inso- 
lent laugh  were  two  grotesquely  picturesque  figures. 
A  wild  inspiration  came  to  her  in  that  moment  of 
terror,  while  her  heart  fluttered  like  a  bird  in  her 
breast. 

"Gentlemen,"  she  spoke  softly. 

The  two  men  stopped,  looked  up,  and  stared  in 
wonder  when  they  saw  the  lovely  face  rising  above 
the  wall  in  its  setting  of  scarlet  blossoms. 

"Gentlemen,"  she  repeated  softly. 

"Gentlemen  of  fortune,  Mistress,  at  your  service," 
answered  one  of  the  knaves,  and  with  an  exaggera- 
tion of  mock  courtesy  he  swept  the  pavement  with 
the  plumes  of  his  hat,  the  other  following  suit  with  a 
still  more  grotesque  imitation. 

"Gentlemen,  do  you  come  from  the  ships  that 
hold  the  passengers  of  The  Indian  Emperor?" 

"Since  the  Empress  of  Land-blossoms  puts  to  us 
that  delicate  question,  we  will  acknowledge  that 
honor." 


The  Wing  of  Occasion  93 

"Has  any  injury  been  done  to  the  passengers?" 
asked  Damaris  steadily,  the  while  she  ignored  the 
impertinence. 

"Marry,  you  would  have  us  betray  the  secrets  of 
our  house!"  said  the  rogue.  "There's  honor  among 
thieves,  Mistress !" 

"If  that  be  so,  tell  me  if  harm  be  come  to  the  men 
of  this  town?" 

"Nay,  Mistress,  Empress  of  Delight,  we  have 
treated  them  even  as  spring  lambs.  We  but  folded 
them  to  keep  them  away  from  the  wolves." 

"Will  harm  come  to  them  ?" 

"S'death,  Mistress,  how  can  a  simple  sailor,  who 
scours  the  seas  for  his  crust  and  sop,  tell  what  the 
mind  of  the  Governor  will  be?" 

"What  mean  you?"  she  asked  eagerly. 

"A  band  of  simple  gentlemen  who  sail  the  seas  for 
change  of  air  find  themselves  troubled  with  cramps 
and  shivering  ague  where  for  we  have  no  physics. 
Finding  ourselves  also  without  monies,  we  have  but 
taken  the  liberty  to  detain  a  few  men  of  the  Province 
while  we  treat  with  the  Governor  for  a  chest  of  pills 
and  possets." 

Damaris  drew  a  sigh  of  relief  and  ignored  the 
eyes  that  ogled  her.  Were  this  same  true,  the  pas- 
sengers were  safe. 

"By  God,  a  likely  wench,  Gascon ;  decent  and 
friendly.  Give  me  a  toss  of  the  foot  and  I'll  tell  you 
if  she  be  as  good  as  she  seems,"  said  the  other  pirate, 
nudging  the  spokesman  and  winking  knowingly. 

"Nail  up  your  infernal  liquor  trap  or  I'll  teach  you 
how !"  said  his  companion,  fiercely. 


94  The  Carolinians 

"Will  you,  damn  you!"  said  the  other,  whipping- 
out  a  brace  of  pistols.  "You  ain't  by  yourself  in  this 
game.  John  Lats  is  never  the  man  to  pass  by  a 
pretty  wench." 

"Put  up  those  irons  or  I'll  teach  you  how  when 
it's  too  late  to  practice.  You  won't  have  two  sound 
bones  to  carry  back  in  your  cursed  body  to  the 
Revenge  if  you  don't  treat  this  lady  respectfully!" 
thundered  Gascon.  Something  in  his  looks  made  his 
companion  quail,  but  he  grumbled  surlily  to  himself 
as  he  returned  his  weapon. 

Damaris,  who  had  almost  fallen  from  the  tree  in 
fright  the  moment  before,  looked  gratefully  at  her 
champion,  whose  speech  betrayed  him  to  be  of  gen- 
tle origin. 

Would  you  be  so  kind  as  to  carry  a  message  to  one 
of  the  prisoners  for  me?"  she  asked  timidly. 

"Sweetheart  ?"  asked  the  man,  bowing  knowingly. 

"No,  a  friend  of  my  father's,"  she  answered,  while 
her  face  glowed. 

"S'death,  Mistress,  that  is  asking  too  much ;  can't 
bother  my  mind  about  a  friend  of  your  dad's. 

Damaris  hesitated  weakly. 

"Now  were  it  a  sweetheart,"  the  man  began 
mockingly,  "I  would  do  a  good  turn  for  a  sweet- 
heart— my  own  or  somebody  else's.  I  was  always 
of  tender  mind  toward  lovers." 

"Sweetheart,  be  it,"  said  Damaris  bravely. 

"Then,  gentle  Mistress,  I  am  yours  till  death !" 
He  slapped  his  hand  dramatically  upon  his  heart. 

"You  will  not  fail  me?"  she  asked,  looking  square- 
ly into  the  reckless  eyes. 


The  Wing  of  Occasion  95 

"Not  as  long  as  a  black  flag  flies  over  the  seas, 
upon  the  three  oaths  of  a  pirate — gentleman,  I 
should  say,  Mistress.  One  gains  strange  fashions  of 
speech,  sailing  the  seas.  I  had  a  yellow-haired  lass 
once  myself.  Poor  lass,  I  wasn't  what  might  be  call- 
ed a  father  to  her — I  found  her  dead  in  her  garret. 
To  quit  my  conscience  of  the  yellow-haired  lass  I'll 
take  your  love  message." 

For  a  moment  Damaris  hesitated,  then  turning 
she  broke  a  spray  of  pomegranate  blossoms. 

"His  name  is  Captain  Maynard,  he  is  tall  and  dark 
and  his  eyes  are  blue ;  give  him  this  and  tell  him  the 
promise  of  summer  has  come." 

The  pirate  twisted  his  moustache  and  screwed 
up  his  eyes ;  his  companion  guffawed  loudly. 

"She's  shut  down  your  hatches  now,  Gascon,"  he 
said.  "By  God,  you're  jammed  fore  and  aft !  Them 
mixed  words  will  set  your  tongue  a-floundering 
worse'n  an  unballasted  ship  around  the  cape." 

"  'The  promise  of  summer  has  come/  "  repeated 
the  other  slowly,  reaching  up  his  hand  for  the  blos- 
soms, which  he  put  into  his  pocket.  "Couldn't  you 
find  it  in  your  heart  to  make  it  a  little  more  con- 
vincing?" he  asked  quizzically. 

"He  will  understand,  and  to  you  I  will  be  grateful 
all  the  days  of  my  life,"  she  said  with  a  winning 
smile. 

The  man's  face  grew  grave,  for  a  minute  he  was 
silent.  When  he  spoke  his  voice  had  lost  its  rollick- 
ing humor. 

"And  I  do  your  errand,  will  you  give  me  one 
token,  Mistress?" 


96  The  Carolinians 

"Damans  grew  white  and  trembled  a  little. 

"Marry,  you  need  have  no  fear,  Mistress.  Tis 
something  easily  spared.  Will  you  give  me  your  lit- 
tle red  shoe?" 

Damaris  smiled  as  she  glanced  at  the  shoe  still  in 
her  hand. 

"Truly,  with  all  the  pleasure  in  the  world.  Would 
it  were  something  more  worthy."  She  dropped  it 
into  his  hands. 

"Chicken-livered,  damn  if  he  ain't  turned  priest !" 
laughed  John  Lat  loudly.  "Taking  a  woman's  shoe 
when  her  lips  is  untook.  Kisses  is  softer  than 
words !" 

Gascon  shoved  him  roughly  away.  "Curse  you, 
I'll  kill  you  if  you  say  another  word!  Get  out  of 
my  sight  if  you  don't  want  to  be  buried  on  land,  you 
scurvy  scoundrel !"  he  cried  fiercely ;  and  some  power 
he  seemed  to  hold  over  his  ruffianly  companion, 
for  with  a  volley  of  oaths  and  scowling  viciously 
John  Lat  moved  away.  Gascon  lifted  his  hat;  his 
voice  was  mocking  but  his  eyes  were  serious,  and  he 
held  aloft  the  little  red  shoe.  "Au  revoir,  I  am  yours 
to  the  death !  For  skull  and  cross-bones  the  Queen 
Anne  sails  henceforth  under  the  red  shoe  for  good 
luck,  fair  Mistress!" 

"Good-by,"  answered  Damaris.  "Would  that  it 
could  bring  you  luck  in  a  better  cause,  but  come 
what  may,  I  will  ever  be  grateful." 

Hand  on  his  heart,  the  pirate  bowed.  Jeering 
laughter  came  from  his  companion,  who  had  turned 
to  watch  him.  Gascon  put  on  his  plumed  hat  with 


The  Wing  of  Occasion  97 

a  flourish,  and  drawing  his  knife  with  a  threatening 
gesture,  followed  his  companion. 

Out  of  the  tree  Damaris  slid  to  the  ground.  She 
rested  her  head  weakly  against  the  wall.  Ice  and 
fire  ran  alternately  through  her  veins  and  her  heart 
seemed  to  be  a  long  way  off. 

A  mocking-bird  that  had  been  feasting  upon  mul- 
berries balanced  himself  upon  a  twig  and  jeered  at 
her,  then  seeing  that  she  did  not  move  made  a  short 
flight  nearer  and  burst  into  lovely  fragments  of 
song. 


CHAPTER  X 


DISENCHANTMENT 


"Cold  winter  is  fled  and  gone, 

And  summer  brags  on  every  tree; 
The  red-breast  peeps  among  the  throng 

Of  wood-brown  birds  that  wanton  be; 
Each  one  forgets  what  they  have  been, 
And  so  doth  Phyllis,  summer's  queen." 


— Anon. 


The  pirates,  after  enjoying  their  sight-seeing,  the 
amusements  of  the  town,  and  the  confusion  of  their 
enemies,  had  betaken  themselves  again  to  their  ships 
with  the  desired  chest  of  medicine.  After  lying 
about  the  Bar  for  several  days,  there  being  some 
division  among  themselves,  largely  fostered  by  the 
discontent  of  Stede  Bonnet,  who  had  been  deposed 
from  his  captaincy,  they  finally  came  to  some  decision 
and  sailed  away,  to  the  vast  joy  of  the  terrorized  and 
indignant  Provinces. 

The  Indian  Emperor,  set  free  and  reprovisioned, 
continued  her  interrupted  voyage  to  England.  One 
less  passenger  she  carried,  however,  for  in  those 
hours  of  durance  when  death  seemed  closer  than  a 
hand's  breath,  Captain  Maynard  had  time  for 
thought,  and  looking  back  over  the  past  few  fevered 
days  he  saw  himself  as  very  little  of  a  hero.  He  had 
run  away  from  a  woman,  he  had  practically  deserted 
his  post,  and  that  under  guise  of  pleasing  his  father. 


Disenchantment  99 

He  was,  however,  a  strong  man,  lusty  with  the  love 
of  life,  which  grew  all  the  sweeter  as  it  seemed  to 
be  slipping  away,  and  above  all  he  longed  for  oppor- 
tunity in  which  to  redeem  himself.  He  had  been  dis- 
appointed, and  that  bitterly,  but  in  him  was  no  mawk- 
ish craving  for  death — the  rather  an  overpower- 
ing desire  to  prove  himself  a  man  in  the  eyes  of  the 
woman  who  had  trifled  with  him.  It  were  easy 
when  death  is  far  off  to  court  it  in  fancy,  but  a  sane 
man  in  a  sane  moment  never  wilfully  sacrifices  his 
life;  the  instinct  to  cling  to  the  known  is  stronger 
than  the  fear  of  circumstance.  His  life  had  naturally 
inured  him  to  the  thought  of  death,  with  it  came  no 
sense  of  shock ;  now  with  the  prospect  of  it  speedily 
befalling  him,  he  made  his  peace  with  himself  and 
the  world.  He  had  forgiven  Damaris,  as  he  had  also 
others  who  had  injured  him,  but  with  a  larger  sense 
of  generosity  in  her  case.  Then  he  put  his  past  life 
behind  him,  buried  it  in  the  sea  as  it  were,  specula- 
ted a  little  about  the  future  life,  but  more  as  to  the 
probability  of  ridding  himself  of  these  bonds,  and 
was  somewhat  given  to  maledictions  upon  his  cap- 
tors and  threatenings  as  to  what  he  would  do  to  them 
had  he  his  will.  Before  the  return  of  the  pirate  emis- 
saries his  decision  was  taken  to  return  to  the  Prov- 
ince should  he  be  spared,  and  the  day  The  Emperor 
weighed  anchor  for  England  he  sped  home  in  a 
small  junk  that  had  reprovisioned  the  rifled  ship. 
The  news  of  his  return  ran  speedily  through  the  town 
and  his  father,  who  had  thought  never  again  to  set 
eyes  upon  him,  ran  to  meet  him  and  swore  that  never 
again  should  he  set  sail  on  the  sea  for  the  having 


100  The  Carolinians 

and  holding  of  forty  Englands.  The  Governor,  to 
whom  his  return  was  a  genuine  gratification  and  re- 
lief, sought  him  out  in  haste  to  welcome  him,  and 
obtain  from  him  full  particulars  of  the  late  occur- 
rence of  the  pirates,  their  strength  and  destination. 

Lady  Kildare,  who  had  rejoiced  maliciously  over 
his  going,  now  raged  openly  over  what  she  consid- 
ered an  impertinent  interference  with  Providential 
dispensation.  To  consider  that  one  holds  the  win- 
ning card  and  then  to  have  one's  game  spoiled  by  an 
unexpected  trump  turning  up  is  vastly  disconcert- 
ing to  the  average  human  mind. 

Damaris  did  not  seek  him,  neither  did  she  rage 
over  his  coming,  but  she  flitted  in  and  out  of  the 
house,  doing  forty  things  within  the  hour,  now  hop- 
ing for  his  coming,  now  fearing  it. 

Two  days  passed  and  he  came  not;  he  was  full  of 
affairs  Damaris  reasoned,  nor  angered  herself 
against  him. 

Like  the  persimmon,  that  anomaly  among  fruits, 
a  woman's  heart  needs  the  touch  of  frost  to  ripen  it 
and  sweeten  it. 

A  woman  is  not  changed  in  a  day,  as  her  hair 
sometimes  is  from  brown  to  white,  but  circumstances 
force  to  the  front  another  of  the  beings  of  whom 
her  complex  nature  is  fond.  That  day  of  tense 
anxiety  had  made  Damaris  realize  some  of  hei 
nature's  possibilities  of  pain ;  the  laughter  had  died 
out  of  her  eyes  and  with  clearer  vision  she  had  seen 
the  boundless  horizon  of  life  pregnant  with  purpose 
old  as  the  stars. 


Disenchantment  101 

The  third  morning  she  had  been  making  straw- 
berry marmalade,  and  with  fingers  all  pink  and  fra- 
grant was  passing  through  the  hall.  Fresh  as  a  wild 
convolvulus  she  looked,  lissome  her  figure,  airy  her 
gown,  bloomy  ripe  her  lovely  lips.  Suddenly  she 
paused ;  a  determined  step  crossed  the  piazza,  a  tall 
figure  entered  the  door.  Still  she  stood,  herself  drawn 
up  to  her  fullest  height,  a  wave  of  happiness  rippling 
from  her  heart  and  breaking  into  music  upon  all  the 
shores  of  her  sensibility,  yet  in  her  mind  a  breath- 
less timidity,  her  face  rosy  with  the  shame  of  sur- 
render. She  had  sent  the  flag  of  truce,  she  must  pay 
the  costs  of  the  war,  she  waited  for  what  he  might 
take  with  beating  pulse. 

"Good-morning,  Mistress  Damaris.  I  hope  you 
find  yourself  well.  I  suppose  that  I  will  find  the 
Governor  in  his  study."  He  regarded  her  with  indif- 
ferent eyes  and  spoke  as  to  an  ordinary  acquaint- 
ance. 

"Yes,  my  father  is  within,"  she  answered  quietly. 

"Thank  you,"  he  answered,  and  passed  on  with 
a  bow. 

The  very  floor  upon  which  Damaris  stood  seem- 
ed to  be  turned  into  scorching  flames  of  shame  that 
enveloped  and  consumed  her,  yet  the  glad  tide  of 
life  that  had  throbbed  at  his  coming  was  congealed 
into  hard  ice  in  her  veins.  She  had  been  petted, 
cajoled,  adored,  combatted  in  her  life;  but  ignored, 
never.  As  no  heroine  of  story  did  she  act;  she 
neither  wept  nor  fainted,  neither  gave  she  voice  to 
lamentations  pitiful — she  was  too  real  to  be  dra- 
matic. She  stood  in  angry  thought,  her  hands 


102  The  Carolinians 

clenched  hard,  her  lips  white,  her  face  like  the  Gov- 
ernor's. "I  come  of  a  race  of  soldiers!"  she  said, 
throwing  back  her  head.  "I  never  liked  him,  I  was 
only  troubled  because  I  thought  that  I  had  sent  him 
to  his  death ;  now  I  shall  always  hate  him !" 

Then  she  took  up  her  basket  and  scissors  and  went 
out  into  the  garden.  Hard  by  the  study  window 
she  gathered  roses,  the  while  she  gathered  she  sang 
a  blithe  ballad,  and  the  young  man  within  leaning 
over  the  papers  heard  above  the  Governor's  even 
tones  the  lilting  voice  singing — 

"  'He  mounted  himself  on  a  coal-black  steed 

And  her  on  a  freckled  gray, 
With  a  buglet  horn  hung  down  by  his  side, 
And  roundly  they  rode  away.'  " 


CHAPTER  XI 

MEASURE  FOR  MEASURE 

"Thy  wit  is  quick  as  the  greyhound's  mouth;   it  catches." 

— Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

"I  am  not  bound  to  please  thee  with  my  answers." 

— Merchant  of  Venice. 

Lady  Kildare  and  Mistress  Damaris  were  among 
the  guests  bidden  to  a  large  dinner  given  at  one  of 
the  outlying  plantations.  The  ladies  of  the  party 
were  to  drive  out  early  in  the  cool  of  the  morning, 
the  gentlemen  later,  as  affairs  permitted. 

Lady  Kildare  called  in  her  great  coach  for 
Damaris.  Right  glad  of  an  opportunity  was  the 
venerable  schemer  to  have  that  young  lady  to  her- 
self, the  said  young  lady  having  been  somewhat  shy 
of  her  presence  since  the  memorable  ball. 

"You  look  vastly  fine  this  morning,  Mistress 
Damaris,"  she  said,  as  the  girl,  like  a  great  full-petal- 
ed  rose  in  her  white  draperies,  settled  down  among 
the  damask  coach  cushions.  "Drive  slowly,  Ter- 
rence,  I  can't  a-bear  the  jolting  of  these  roads  in  the 
wilderness.  There's  no  hurry  to  get  there,"  she  said, 
turning  again  to  Damaris.  "Just  a  parcel  of  musty 
old  frumps  who  have  been  gathering  since  dawn, 
never  a  man  among  them.  Where  the  carcass  is 


104  The  Carolinians 

there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together.  Now  tell 
me  what  you  have  been  doing  that  you  are  ashamed 
of,  that  you  hide  yourself  from  me." 

"Making  sweet-meats,  Madam,"  answered  Dama- 
ris  demurely. 

"Making  mince-meat  out  of  your  prospects, 
rather,"  she  snapped.  "Tolling  back  Tomahawk 
from  the  way  he  should  go." 

Damaris  started  and  blushed  in  dismay — how 
could  her  Ladyship  know. 

"Marry,  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  have  the  grace 
to  blush  for  your  company,"  remarked  the  shrewd 
old  observer. 

"Nay,  your  Ladyship,  I  do  not  blush  for  my  com- 
pany, but  for  those  who  have  poisoned  your  mind 
against  a  worthy  gentleman,"  she  answered  with 
asperity. 

"Hoity,  toity,  pretty  Miss  Kitty  has  claws !"  said 
her  tormentor,  chuckling  wickedly. 

Damaris,  ashamed  of  her  spleen  and  provoked  to 
have  given  her  adversary  the  advantage  thereof, 
looked  out  of  the  coach  window.  They  were  rolling 
along  a  stretch  of  shady  road,  on  either  hand  hedges 
of  Cherokee  roses,  long  arms  of  blossom-laden  vine 
reaching  up  into  red  bud  and  maple;  long  trailers 
of  blossoming  grape  vine  down  from  above,  filling 
the  air  with  dusty  sweetness. 

"Nay,  child,"  said  her  Ladyship,  tapping  her  arm 
with  her  tortoise-shell  fan,  "we  won't  quarrel  about 
such  a  trifle  as  a  man.  By  my  troth,  they  aren't 
worth  a  woman's  heart,  much  less  her  temper.  'Tis 
a  long  drive  to  Accabee  and  silence  is  a  woman's 
earthly  purgatory.  I  could  almost  love  Tomahawk 


Measure  For  Measure  105 

for  your  sake,  but  a  sorry  nightmare  I  would  ride 
to  the  tryst." 

"You  need  not  discommode  yourself  so  greatly, 
dear  Lady  Kildare,"  said  Damaris,  laughing,  "see- 
ing that  I  do  not  love  him  myself." 

"To  lie  about  affairs  of  the  heart  is  permitted  by 
the  saints,"  spoke  Lady  Kildare  grimly. 

"I  never  lie,  Madam !"  said  Damaris  hotly. 

"Then  you  have  a  great  deal  to  learn.  Lies  are  the 
life-preservers  of  society." 

"They  are  an  abomination  to  the  upright !" 

"Such  are  truly  too  few  to  be  accounted.  Lies  are 
the  ever-present  help  to  the  devious  majority,  and  of 
such  are  the  children  of  men." 

"Which  majority  I  will  never  swell." 

"Ta,  ta,  we  are  the  creatures  of  circumstance. 
You  have  not  yet  been  forced  by  expediency ;  neces- 
sity comes  with  the  lie  in  her  mouth." 

Again  Damaris  gave  herself  up  to  the  study  of  the 
wayside.  In  somewhat  she  had  lost  the  sharp  edge 
of  her  spirit  and  the  wordy  warfare  tired  her.  To- 
day, too,  the  brilliant  cynicism  of  her  companion 
hurt  her  out  here  in  the  heart  of  God's  green  world 
where  Nature  is  truth.  There  was  something  rest- 
ful to  her  in  the  green  fringes  of  the  palmettoes  rust- 
ling in  the  minor  tones  of  Creation's  symphonic 
chorus ;  the  brooding  notes  of  the  pines  voiced  it  in 
fuller  air,  and  a  nonpareil  fluttering  in  and  out  of  the 
Yaupon  bushes,  where  nested  its  mate,  struck  with 
song  jubilant  the  highest  note  of  love  creative. 

"Why  don't  you  marry  Francis  Yonge,  child;  he 
is  mad  about  you?"  asked  Lady  Kildare  suddenly. 


106  The  Carolinians 

Damaris  brought  her  eyes  slowly  back  from  the 
pinky  masses  of  blossoms  that  billowed  fragrantly 
over  the  level  pine  barrens  through  which  they  were 
passing,  and  looked  amusedly  into  the  eagle-sharp 
eyes  that  were  compelling  her. 

"Mr.  Yonge  was  never  in  earnest  in  his  life,"  she 
answered. 

"Heaven  forbid,  he  is  an  agreeable  man.  People 
who  are  in  earnest  are  always  reformers,  or  revo- 
lutionists, or  Dissenters,  or  something  moral  or  med- 
dlesome. You  know  that  he  loves  you,  he  has  told 
you  so  a  score  of  times ;  what  is  the  use  of  trying  to 
make  him  into  something  never  intended  by  Nature. 
We  can't  all  be  beavers  and  moles  and  murderers !" 
she  answered  crushingly. 

"He  but  loves  me  with  his  lips,"  Damaris  fenced 
lightly. 

"And  a  very  good-looking  pair  of  lips  they  are, 
and  passing  well  versed  in  lip-service,  I  warrant.  Be- 
shrew  me,  Francis  Yonge  is  no  milk  sop  and  can  buss 
fairly  enough !"  snapped  her  Ladyship. 

"I  do  not  love  him !"  Damaris  replied  hotly. 

"No  more  should  you.  A  woman  should  never 
love  her  husband,  it  makes  him  exacting.  A  genteel 
amount  of  pretense  is  all  that  is  necessary  and  vastly 
more  well-bred." 

"I  could  never  play  the  hyprocrite !" 

"The  greater  fool,  you.  Hypocrisy  is  the  strong- 
hold of  the  wise,  and  hypocrites  shall  inherit  the 
earth  and  the  fulness  thereof." 

"I  prefer  to  be  a  beggar  and  an  outcast !" 

"And  live  in  a  wigwam  ?"  significantly. 


Measure  For  Measure  107 

"  'Twere  better  to  dwell  in  tents  with  a  clear  con- 
science than  in  kings'  palaces  with  a  corrupt  spirit !" 
she  maintained  stoutly,  ignoring  the  thrust. 

"Conscience  is  a  cant  term  for  a  bad  digestion. 
Biblical  tents  were  picturesque  metaphors.  Toma- 
hawk's wigwams  are  ill-smelling  skins." 

"Love  will  transform  them  into  bowers  of  para- 
dise," Damaris  answered,  with  outward  sweetness 
and  inward  rage. 

•    Lady  Kildare  glowered  at  her,  then  sinking  back 
into  her  corner,  pretended  to  be  asleep. 

With  a  sigh  of  relief  into  her  own  corner-fortress 
sank  the  girl,  and  gave  herself  up  to  a  dreamy  obser- 
vation of  the  forest  and  open  through  which  they 
passed. 

Parrakeets  flashed  in  and  out  of  the  bay  trees ;  spun 
silver  with  cuirass  of  vert  iridescent,  dragon-flies 
darted  where  the  Wampee  marshalled  its  forests  of 
spears ;  flaunting  begonias,  brave  in  the  king's  scarlet 
and  gold,  blew  flaring  trumpets  across  the  still  black 
waters  of  lagoons;  a  great  white  heron,  startled, 
clove  the  greenery  with  heavy  wings. 

"Heigho!  we  are  well  near  our  destination. 
'Twill  take  a  special  dispensation  of  amiability  to 
preserve  peace  among  the  women  until  the  men  ar- 
rive," spoke  Lady  Kildare  discontentedly,  coming 
back  suddenly  from  her  enforced  nap. 

"I  have  already  used  up  my  dispensation,"  an- 
swered Damaris,  ruefully. 

"Saucy  minx,"  chuckled  her' Ladyship  delightedly, 
"your  wit,  at  least,  is  of  pretty  endurance.  You 
ought  to  have  been  my  daughter." 

"God  forbid !"  ejaculated  Damaris  devoutly. 


108  The  Carolinians 

"What  do  you  mean,  Miss  ?"  demanded  the  other 
sharply. 

"Only  this,  that  I  would  long  since  have  been 
made  into  Mistress  Francis  Yonge,  nolens  volens." 

"Truth,  so  would  you,  and  a  far  better  fate  than 
your  deserts,  Miss  Malapert.  'Tis  a  shameful  thing 
for  a  blade  of  steel  to  mate  with  an  axe  of  clay,"  she 
grumbled. 

"In  this  case  the  blade  of  steel  remains  in  its  scab- 
bard and  the  axe  goes  back  to  its  own,"  laughed  Da- 
mans. "Truly,  dear  Lady  Kildare,  did  you  but 
know  the  errors  into  which  the  zeal  of  your  friend- 
ship has  beguiled  your  judgment,  you  would  never 
set  your  affections  upon  a  woman  again." 

"Don't  speak  in  riddles,  I  like  plain  speech.  Tell 
me  what  you  mean,"  queried  Lady  Kildare  eagerly. 

"I  only  mean  that  I  am  fancy  free  and  would 
assure  you  thereof,"  she  laughed  airily.  "May  I 
jump  out  and  gather  me  a  posy  of  those  locust 
blossoms  ?" 

While  she  gathered  the  heavy,  creamy  trusses, 
honey-scented,  bee-haunted,  Lady  Kildare  studied 
her  keenly,  muttering  to  herself  discontentedly: 
"She  lies,  and  that  right  honestly.  A  fortnight  ago 
I  might  have  believed  her,  but  to-day,  not  by  my 
word;  there  conies  a  look  into  her  eyes  when  she 
thinks  that  belonged  never  to  a  sane  woman.  Heaven 
forgive  me  that  I  am  grown  so  dull  that  I  cannot  tell 
which  he  be.  It  cannot  be  that  I  am  growing  old !" 
and  she  shivered  uneasily. 

"There  is  no  need  to  leave  room  for  death,"  she 
said  fearfully,  looking  at  the  vacant  seat  beside  her. 
"Make  haste,  child,  we  must  not  tarry  upon  the  way ; 
it  grows  late,"  she  cried  tremulously. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SEATS  OF  THE  MIGHTY 

"Thus  have  I  had  thee  as  a  dream  doth  flatter; 
In  sleep  a  king;  but  waking,  no  such  matter." 

Shakespeare — Sonnet. 

Peace  had  been  preserved  among  the  ladies,  gos- 
sip had  come  to  the  rescue  and  only  the  absent  had 
suffered.  The  gentlemen  had  arrived,  dinner  was 
ended,  and  now  the  company  were  assembled  upon 
the  rose-screened  piazza.  About  the  house  stood  the 
patriarch  live-oaks  wagging  their  hoary  beards ;  over 
the  young  flower-beds,  blazing  in  the  afternoon  sun, 
darted  humming-birds  to  and  fro,  weaving  a  vivid 
pattern  of  light.  The  party  had  broken  up  into  little 
groups,  purposeful  and  accidental.  Damans,  with 
Colonel  Parris,  had  wandered  out  upon  the  lawn  and 
sat  under  a  clump  of  orange  trees  heavy  with  blooms 
and  besieged  by  bees;  at  a  little  distance  Captain 
Maynard  and  Mistress  Dorothy  Bowers  sauntered 
idly  up  and  down  under  a  group  of  oaks.  Damaris 
fanned  herself  with  a  shining  palm  leaf  that  her  com- 
panion had  cut  for  her.  More  than  once  her  eyes 
wandered  from  the  infatuated  face  before  her  to  the 
swaying  shadows  of  the  strolling  couple.  From  the 
piazza  sounded  the  mocking  laughter  of  Francis 
Yonge  and  the  harsh  cackling  of  Lady  Kildare,  who 
were  enjoying  themselves  in  warfare  wordy  and 


110  The  Carolinians 

spicy ;  also  the  steady  voice  of  the  Governor ;  and  the 
blended  murmur  of  voices  less  significant. 

Lady  Kildare,  who  had  kept  her  sharp  eye  upon 
Damaris,  was  in  high  good  humor,  seeing  that  she 
and  Captain  Maynard  had  but  greeted  each  other 
with  common-place  civilities,  and  then  that  baffling 
young  person  had  submitted  gracefully  to  Francis 
Yonge's  reckless  lovemaking,  and  at  this  present 
seemed  to  be  enjoying  equally  the  admiration  of  Col- 
onel Parris. 

"If  I  thought  that  there  were  any  chance,"  Colonel 
Parris  was  saying. 

"The  chances  are  always  to  the  brave,"  Damaris 
answered  lightly.  Her  eyes  were  fastened  upon  a 
disturbed  chameleon,  emerald  green  upon  an  orange 
twig,  that  puffed  his  red  blanket  in  and  out. 

"I  want  more  than  a  chance,  I  want  a  promise!" 
he  urged. 

Into  Damaris's  line  of  vision  came  again  the  sway- 
ing shadows  and  the  hem  of  Mistress  Dorothy's 
rose-colored  gown. 

"After  all,  promises  do  not  count  greatly;  they 
are  easily  broken,"  she  replied  teasingly. 

"Are  you  ever  in  earnest,  Mistress  Damaris  ?"  he 
asked  irately. 

"Sometimes — when  I  hate,"  she  answered  quietly. 
Again  the  shadows  drifted  toward  her. 

"So  am  I,  Mistress  Damaris !"  he  answered  harsh- 
ly, and  there  was  an  ugly  look  in  his  treacherous, 
close-set  eyes. 

"This  is  not  a  day  to  hate,"  she  answered  brightly. 

"After  all,  do  we  really  hate,  or  is  it  a  night- 
mare ?"  she  added  thoughtfully. 


Seats  of  the  Mighty  111 

"There  is  no  doubt  about  the  reality  of  my  hate !" 
he  replied  emphatically;  "or  of  my  love,  fair  lady," 
he  added  sentimentally. 

"Come  now,  Colonel  Parris,  every  mother's  son 
since  Adam  has  thought  and  declared  the  same 
thing;  nevertheless,  there  have  been  some  few 
memorable  defections." 

"You  are  ever  pleased  to  make  light  of  me,"  he 
spoke  reproachfully. 

"So  do  I  also  make  light  of  myself.  I  am  a  trifle 
lighter  than  air,  and  how  can  I  consider  a  matter  so 
weighty  as  a  man's  love  ?  How  could  one  be  serious 
an  afternoon  like  this — it  is  a  day  of  dreams  ?"  She 
closed  her  eyes  and  waved  her  palm  leaf  gently  be- 
fore her.  Despoiled  by  marauding  bees  the  petals  of 
the  orange  blossoms  drifted  down  and  clung  to  her 
hair  and  gown  in  fragrant  silence;  the  chameleon, 
grown  motionless,  lay  like  an  emerald  scarab  against 
the  stem. 

Colonel  Parris  regarded  the  baffling  creature  with 
irate  eyes. 

"You  are  heartless,  Mistress  Damaris,  and  cruel 
as  you  are  beautiful !" 

Damaris  straightened  herself  energetically  and 
turned  at  bay. 

"To  tell  a  woman  that  she  is  beautiful  is  a  poor 
compliment  to  her  understanding.  If  it  be  true  you 
do  but  repeat  what  her  mirror  must  often  have  told 
her  more  plainly ;  to  consider  that  she  values  it  is  to 
exaggerate  her  vanity  or  to  increase  it.  To  call  me 
cruel  is  to  use  the  hackneyed  expression  of  every 
play-house  lover.  Because  I  am  a  woman  every  idle 
gallant  considers  that  he  has  a  right  to  make  love  to 


112  The  Carolinians 

me;  because  I  cannot  straightway  fall  in  love  with 
every  man  who  calls  himself  my  admirer,  I  am  cruel. 
Forsooth,  'tis  you  of  the  braver  sex  who  are  cruel  to 
me.  I  am  worn  of  the  theme  of  love,  the  very  name 
of  it  starts  a  ringing  in  my  ears.  Couldn't  you  treat 
me  like  a  man  just  once,  talk  to  me  of  battle  and  mur- 
der and  sudden  death — or  any  other  agreeable  sub- 
ject?" 

"I  am  unfortunate,  since  my  conversation  of- 
fends," replied  Colonel  Parris,  drawing  himself  up 
haughtily. 

"If  you  are  really  sorry,"  she  answered  sweetly, 
"I  know  that  we  will  be  better  friends;  contrition 
works  reformation." 

"I  dare  not  aspire  to  so  great  honor  as  the  friend- 
ship of  Mistress  Johnson,"  he  answered,  unmollified. 

Damaris  rose,  laughing  gaily. 

"Nay,  then,  we  will  be  foes  and  straightway  will 
I  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country — look  to 
the  outworks  of  your  vanity.  Meanwhile,  we  will 
call  a  truce.  Will  you  row  me  across  the  pond  to 
gather  some  iris  ?" 

"I  am  yours  to  command,"  he  replied  stiffly.  He 
was  a  vain  man  and  an  unforgiving,  of  a  temper  not 
easily  controlled. 

"I  would  never  command  even  an  enemy  to  un- 
welcome service,"  she  answered  coolly.  "I  will  call 
Mr.  Yonge." 

"Nay,  I  beseech  you  forgive  me,"  he  pleaded 
warmly,  suddenly  brought  to  terms  by  his  jealousy ; 
"do  not  deprive  me  of  so  great  a  pleasure.  I  con- 
fess I  spoke  churlishly,  but  when  a  man's  best  feel- 
ings are  trampled  upon — " 


Seats  of  the  Mighty  113 

"He  uses  his  second  best,  which  are  a  little  more 
elastic,"  she  finished  for  him  as  she  moved  toward 
the  boat. 

"Meanwhile,  on  the  piazza,  new  groups  had 
formed  themselves.  Governor  Johnson,  Mr.  Yonge, 
Captain  Maynard,  Mr.  Richard  Allein,  their  host, 
a  lawyer  of  prominence,  were  engaged  in  animated 
discussion.  Also  Sir  Hovenden  Walker  talked  with 
them,  he  being  an  admiral  in  the  British  service,  who 
had  commanded  the  unsuccessful  expedition  sent  out 
against  Canada  in  1711,  and  who  afterwards  had 
been  for  a  time  Deputy-Governor  of  North  Carolina. 

Recently  affairs  of  great  moment  had  been  trans- 
piring to  the  vast  detriment  of  the  Colony.  Again 
a  tyrannical  hand  had  been  laid  upon  the  festering 
sore  of  Colonial  discontent,  wakening  it  to  feverish 
irritability.  Between  the  indifference  and  the  greed 
of  the  Proprietors  and  the  calculating  foresight  of 
the  Crown,  that  saw  in  the  Colony  possible  source  of 
future  wealth  and  strength,  there  was  a  seriously 
hampered  existence  for  the  struggling  community. 
Involved  in  all  the  wars  of  the  Mother  Country,  pay- 
ing heavy  toll  of  her  infant  commerce  alike  to  pirates 
and  England,  she  but  hardly  retained  her  footing. 

"I  hope  that  affairs  may  soon  have  a  better  coun- 
tenance and  these  causes  of  disturbance  be  removed." 
It  was  the  Governor  who  was  speaking.  "But  two 
days  since,  upon  the  i8th  of  June,  I  sent  to  their 
Lordships  a  full  and  exhaustive  relation  of  our  con- 
dition and  needs ;  therein  gave  I  in  detail  the  recent 
daring  and  insulting  visitation  of  pirates,  appealing 
to  their  fatherly  affection  for  us,  entreating  them 


114  The  Carolinians 

that  they  send  us  in  our  present  necessity  two  frigates 
to  cruise  about  the  coast  and  relieve  us  from  this 
great  oppression  of  robbers." 

"Truly,  your  Excellency,  we  are  deeply  sensible 
of  your  efforts  in  our  behalf,  and  of  your  untiring 
pains  to  better  our  condition  with  the  Board;  but 
the  most  skilful  workman  makes  not  a  silken  purse 
of  a  sow's  ear.  The  policy  of  the  Proprietors 
toward  us  has  been  of  the  most  unnatural  and  un- 
profitable temper.  The  Colony  is  still  indignant 
over  their  vaunted  munificence  of  quit-rents  to 
extend  to  May  3,  1716,  the  which  was  so  justly  and 
indignantly  refused  by  the  Assembly.  The  new  tax 
of  £12  against  the  original  £3  of  Queen  Anne's 
reign,  you  may  argue,  is  caused  by  the  depreciation 
of  our  money.  To  whom  is  this  depreciation  due, 
your  Excellency?  Had  our  unnatural  Charterists 
responded  to  our  just  and  reasonable  appeals,  would 
this  surplus  of  paper  currency  be  flooding  the  land  ? 
Our  Assembly  is  forced  to  meet  in  a  room  that  is 
loaned.  Is  it  not  fitting  that  they  should  build  us  a 
State  House?  Instead  of  building  us  a  prison,  of 
which  we  are  sorely  in  need,  our  debtors  and  crim- 
inals escaping  because  of  insufficient  quarters,  our 
monies  go  to  paying  the  rents  of  lands  that  have 
become  unprofitable  because  of  Indian  depredations, 
and  the  reduced  profits  thereof  being  levied  upon  by 
a  swarm  of  pirates  from  whom  they  will  not  protect 
us.  God  only  knows  what  is  to  become  of  us." 

"Forsooth,  your  Lordship,  one  not  gifted  with 
divine  foresight  might  answer  that  question,"  sug- 
gested Mr.  Yonge,  with  a  cynical  smile. 

"And  that  answer  would  be — ?" 


Seats  of  the  Mighty  115 

"A  royal  reprisal.  The  careful  eye  of  the  Hano- 
verian has  long  been  upon  us,  the  chance  of  profit 
awakes  the  royal  sense  of  justice." 

"God  save  the  King!"  said  the  Governor,  rising. 

"And  confound  the  Proprietors !"  said  Mr.  Yonge 
fervently. 

"Such  levity  ill  becomes  the  Deputy  of  my  Lord 
Carteret,"  spoke  the  Governor  reprovingly. 

"Pardon,  your  Excellency,  but  when  one's  char- 
tered masters  ignore  their  obligations,  fealty  passes 
away  with  good  faith,"  replied  Yonge  courteously. 

"We  must  admit  that  His  Majesty  has  not  shown 
himself  reluctant  to  our  appeals,"  said  Richard 
Allein,  speaking  for  the  first  time.  "Upon  our  direct 
representation  he  sent  out  Captain  Rogers  with  a 
fleet  to  New  Providence,  there  to  cruise  in  the 
pirates'  headquarters,  and  to  declare  the  King's  par- 
don to  all  who  would  surrender  and  take  the  oath 
within  the  twelve-month." 

"A  feint,"  said  Francis  Yonge ;  "a  mere  straw  to 
show  which  way  the  wind  blows.  The  zeal  of  the 
King  for  our  cause  will  be  restrained  by  royal  pru- 
dence until  such  time  as  we  make  full  and  unqualified 
appeal  to  him,  or  until  such  time  when  policy  will 
dictate  that  he  shall  relieve  the  Proprietors  of  our 
responsibility.  Our  George  II.  is  little  English  at 
heart." 

"The  Proprietors  are  our  lawful  masters,  so  estab- 
lished by  grant  of  His  Majesty  Charles  II.,  secured 
by  the  Crown  to  them  and  the  lawful  heirs  of  their 
bodies  forever,"  spoke  the  Governor  warmly. 

'  'Twere  easier  to  have  than  to  hold,"  said  Yonge 
grimly, 


116  The  Carolinians 

"Good  faith  needs  no  holding;  'twere  its  own 
surety,"  replied  Governor  Johnson  steadily. 

"Good  faith  grows  decrepit  in  a  halting  service." 

"Honesty  never  halts,"  spoke  the  Governor 
gravely. 

"Honesty  wears  many  colors,  and  self-protection 
a  very  serviceable  one,"  said  Yonge  quietly. 

There  was  a  tense  silence.  Three  of  the  gentle- 
men smoked  thoughtfully;  the  Governor  sat  with 
folded  arms,  his  grave  eyes  fixed  aloft  on  a  buzzard 
poising  upon  splendid  wing,  forming  the  keystone  of 
the  heavenly  arch,  as  it  were. 

"At  any  rate,  the  King's  proclamation  has  done 
us  sorry  service,"  finally  spoke  Mr.  Allein.  "  'Tis 
but  a  safe  passport  for  the  rascals  to  run  into  port, 
surrender  to  the  King's  pardon,  then,  refitted  as 
privateers,  with  a  legalized  trade  of  robbery,  take  up 
their  pestilent  career  again  under  safer  auspices. 
Our  worthy  friend  Mr.  Edward  Thatch,  of  malo- 
dorous sea  fame,  otherwise  Blackbeard,  did  take  the 
oath  of  Governor  Eden,  of  North  Carolina,  then 
straightway  began  a  more  audacious  career,  paying 
us  shortly  that  memorable  visit  a  fortnight  since,  an 
insult  which,  to  our  great  discredit,  has  not  yet  been 
wiped  out  in  blood." 

"The  shame  lies  at  our  door,"  said  Sir  Hovenden 
Walker. 

"We  will  abide  in  patience,  gentlemen,"  said  the 
Governor.  "The  time  is  not  yet  ripe  for  our  revenge, 
neither  means  convenient.  Can  we  lay  our  hand 
upon  funds  at  our  will  ?  Furthermore,  this  present 
time,  up  to  September,  will  be  a  period  of  compara- 
tive immunity,  there  be  few  ships  going  or  coming ; 


Seats  of  the  Mighty  117 

but  in  September  recommences  the  commerce  of  our 
Province,  also  the  coming  of  rich  merchantmen  to 
our  port.  Against  that  time  we  must  provide  with 
strenuous  measures.  Perchance  assistance  may  come 
from  the  Proprietors.  That  failing  us,  we  will  stand 
by  our  own  efforts." 

"So  be  it,"  assented  his  companions,  and  looked 
meaningly  at  each  other. 

"From  that  source  we  need  never  expect  justice  as 
long  as  we  cherish  the  viper  in  our  bosom,"  said  Mr. 
Allein  bitterly. 

"Nay,  'tis  probable  you  speak  wisely,"  said  Francis 
Yonge.  "Tis  openly  spoken  of  and  currently  cir- 
culated in  the  town  that  there  exists  a  most  mis- 
chievous correspondence  between  Justice  Trott  and 
the  Board,  which  works  to  our  lasting  undoing." 

"There  is  certainly  an  evil  complexion  to  the 
matter,"  said  the  Governor  sadly.  Some  time  since 
he  had  come  to  realize  the  fact  that  though  he  was 
nominally  invested  with  the  authority  of  the  Board, 
Trott  and  Rhett  were  their  virtual  exponents. 

"No  colony  can  prosper  where  all  the  judicial 
power  is  vested  in  one  judiciary,"  said  Sir  Hovenden. 

"And  that  a  corrupt  one,"  said  Mr.  Yonge. 
"Furthermore,  rumor  brings  tidings  that  Trott  and 
Rhett  do  move  heaven  and  earth  to  prevail  upon  the 
Proprietors  to  revert  to  the  original  method  of  hold- 
ing elections  in  Charles  Town." 

"Impossible!"  cried  the  other  gentlemen,  aghast. 

"With  the  Devil  nothing  is  impossible,"  replied 
Mr.  Yonge,  and  whistled  softly  to  himself. 


118  The  Carolinians 

"It  is  most  damnable  trickery  and  treasonable  cor- 
ruption," stormed  Sir  Hovenden,  striking  his  fist 
upon  the  arm  of  his  chair. 

"Speak  you  with  a  semblance  of  authority,  Mr. 
Yonge  ?"  asked  Governor  Johnson  gravely. 

"The  Devil  is  a  politician;  he  never  gives  his 
authority,"  replied  Yonge  lightly. 

"It  were  kinder  to  spare  us  your  levity  at  this  time, 
Mr.  Yonge,  seeing  that  we  are  greatly  troubled." 

Mr.  Yonge  drew  his  eyelids  close  down  till  only 
the  sinister  spark  of  light  showed  between,  and  took 
a  pinch  of  snuff  deliberately,  not  neglecting  to  brush 
the  dust  from  his  ruffles  before  he  spoke. 

"Your  Honor  must  pardon  what  seems  levity,  since 
no  disrespect  was  intended;  you  must  pardon  also 
that  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  give  my  authority  for 
what  is  yet  only  a  whispered  rumor  over  seas,  seeing 
I  am  somewhat  straitly  placed  in  the  matter.  Good 
faith  to  your  Honor  requires  that  I  should  speak 
clearly,  having  said  so  much;  good  faith  to  others 
demands  that  I  should  never  have  mentioned  the 
matter  at  all.  Since  the  fiends  and  the  saints  both 
pipe  to  me  at  the  same  time,  I  pray  your  clemency." 

"You  have  our  thanks  for  the  hint  you  have  given 
us ;  yet  what  can  it  avail,  seeing  our  hands  are  tied," 
said  the  Governor,  deeply  moved. 

"Politics,  politics,"  said  Lady  Kildare,  joining 
them.  The  gentlemen  rose ;  she  leaned  on  her  stick, 
her  glance  passing  from  one  to  the  other.  "For- 
tunately nothing  has  been  said  about  there  being  no 
politics  in  heaven,  else  never  a  man  would  lift  his 
eyes  to  the  jewelled  gates." 


Seats  of  the  Mighty  119 

"We  will  need  some  cause  of  strife  there,  said  Mr. 
Yonge,  "seeing  that  there  will  be  no  giving  in  mar- 
riage." 

"Certainly  not,"  replied  Lady  Kildare,  "seeing 
that  there  will  a  woman's  eyes  be  opened  to  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  And  yet  methinks,  Mr. 
Yonge,  and  my  eyes  deceive  me  not,  you  have  been 
somewhat  zealous  in  seeking  strife." 

There  followed  a  laugh  at  Mr.  Yonge's  expense, 
in  which  even  the  Governor  joined  quietly. 

"Madame,"  said  Mr.  Yonge,  with  mock  solemnity, 
"it  is  the  misfortune  of  the  children  of  this  genera- 
tion to  choose  evil  rather  than  good." 

"Forsooth,  'tis  also  the  privilege  of  some  of  the 
chosen  evil  to  reject  the  children  of  this  generation," 
retorted  her  Ladyship  amid  renewed  laughter. 

"Then  should  your  Ladyship  be  the  more  pitiful, 
knowing  our  fate,  since  virtue  ever  respects  mis- 
fortune." 

"And  wisdom  consorts  not  with  impudence." 

"Will  your  Ladyship  allow  me  the  honor  of 
escorting  you  home?" 

"Which  means  that  you  would  like  to  ride  in  the 
coach  with  Mistress  Damaris,"  replied  her  Ladyship 
tartly,  while  a  smile  went  round,  this  time  at  her 
expense.  "I've  half  a  mind  to  invite  Tomahawk 
instead." 

Francis  Yonge  smiled  mockingly;  he  knew  that 
she  would  rather  invite  a  pirate  crew. 

"Shall  I  call  your  coach  ?"  he  asked  sweetly. 

"Make  haste  to  do  so.  'Tis  growing  late  and  we 
\vill  be  catching  an  ague  in  these  dismal  swamps. 


120  The  Carolinians 

Here  comes  Mistress  Damaris  at  last;  hey,  but  the 
girl  is  a  coquette  born." 

The  party  was  not  long  in  breaking  up.  Even 
their  hosts  were  returning  to  the  town,  the  planta- 
tions being  considered  unhealthy  during  the  summer 
nights.  Lady  Kildare  and  Damaris  were  handed 
into  their  coach,  Mr.  Yonge  following,  and  Captain 
Maynard  closing  the  door  after  them. 

"I  hope  that  you  have  passed  a  pleasant  day,"  he 
said  perfunctorily  to  Damaris. 

"It  has  been  an  absolutely  perfect  day,"  she 
answered  gaily.  There  was  nothing  to  be  desired." 

"You  are  truly  fortunate,"  he  replied,  and  the 
coach  moved  off  briskly. 

A  moment  later  Mr.  Yonge,  who  had  been  adjust- 
ing Lady  Kildare's  cushions  and  wraps,  turned 
toward  Damans  with  some  sally.  He  was  troubled 
to  see  how  white  and  tired  she  looked  all  of  a  sudden, 
and  confined  his  conversation  to  her  Ladyship  until 
she  fell  asleep  in  her  corner. 

"Follow  suit,"  said  Mr.  Yonge  softly;  "the  day 
has  been  long  and  warm." 

"Nay,  I  never  sleep  at  my  post." 

"Between  the  dark  and  the  daylight  comes  the 
truce." 

"  'Tis  good  tidings ;  my  sword  arm  is  spent." 

"I  am  a  man  of  peace." 

"And  I  a  woman  of  few  words."  She  rested  her 
face  upon  her  hand  and  leaned  out  of  the  window. 
Fresh  against  her  face  rose  the  coolness  of  dewy 
herbage;  drowsily  sweet  the  breath  of  night-bloom- 
ers; dusky  bats,  velvet  winged,  flitted  shadow-like 
among  shadows ;  a  sleepy  stirring  among  reeds  sleep- 
ily piping;  frogs  singing  themselves  hoarsely  to 


Seats  of  the  Mighty  121 

sleep ;  life  of  the  forest,  of  barren  and  of  open,  slum- 
berously  sinking  under  the  spell  of  nature's  multi- 
voiced  cradle-song — the  solemn  hush  of  a  world 
going  back  to  God. 

The  spell  of  the  hour  seemed  to  have  fallen  upon 
Francis  Yonge,  he  was  unwontedly  silent  and  grave ; 
from  time  to  time  he  carried  on  a  desultory  talk,  but 
for  the  greater  part  he  left  the  languid  girl  to  her 
thoughts. 

When  they  reached  the  Governor's  house  Lady 
Kildare  aroused  herself  and  bade  Damaris  good- 
night, then,  escorted  by  Mr.  Yonge,  she  mounted  the 
steps. 

"For  me  there  should  be  some  sort  of  paradise; 
for  an  hour  have  I  driven  with  you  in  the  twilight 
without  one  word  of  love,"  he  pleaded. 

"Your  supply  of  such  is  exhausted ;  you  but  await 
a  new  importation  from  the  London  playhouses." 

"Think  you  truly  so?  Then  will  I  take  pleasure 
in  proving  to  you  at  an  early  opportunity  how  inex- 
haustible is  my  supply." 

"Nay,  I  am  but  of  small  experience  in  such  mat- 
ters ;  prove  it  to  some  one  else  and  tell  me  about  it. 
Good-night  and  a  fair  good  fortune  to  you,"  she 
laughed,  and  slipped  within  out  of  his  sight. 

Mr.  Yonge  narrowed  his  eyes  and  stood  looking 
after  her.  "What  is  she  made  of,  I  wonder?"  he 
mused.  "Something  that  surpasses  my  knowledge 
and  my  skill,  something  that  baffles  and  turns  me 
down  at  every  point.  Damme,  I'll  not  be  a  girl's 
plaything;  I'll  go  back  to  London.  No,  damme,  I 
won't.  I'll  play  it  out  to  the  end.  Fore  the  Lord, 
I  believe  that  I  really  am  in  love.  Fool,  fool,  fool, 
I  must  buy  me  a  cap  and  bells." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FOREST    FIRES 

"Sweet  is  the  rose,  but  grows  upon  a  brere." 

—Chaucer. 
"Come  away!    break  through  all  delays;  a  woman  is  a  changeful  thing." 

— Virgilitts. 

The  fervid  September  sun  made  the  day  faint  and 
drowsy,  until  with  the  afternoon  came  an  easterly 
breeze  that  freshened  it  into  spasmodic  life. 

The  Governor  and  Damaris  sat  upon  the  porch  in 
the  shade  of  the  great  magnolia;  upon  its  broad 
leaves  the  breeze  pattered  musically.  Some  non- 
pareils, vivid  scarlet  and  emerald,  flashed  in  and  out 
among  the  oranges  now  showing  the  first  golden 
gleam  upon  their  sunny  sides.  A  warm,  heavy  smell, 
like  the  artificial  sweetness  of  a  ballroom,  rose  from 
the  garden,  where  the  spendthrift  summer  still  rioted 
in  tropic  bloom. 

Both  father  and  daughter  looked  somewhat  wan 
after  the  long  summer.  Damaris,  almost  asleep,  lay 
her  head  upon  the  balustrade  and  from  her  relaxed 
hand  the  Spectator  dropped  heavily  to  the  floor. 

The  Governor  looked  up  from  the  document  in 
his  hand  and  smiled  sadly  upon  her.  "Poor  little 
maid,  she  needs  the  wholesome  air  of  bonny 
England,"  he  said ;  then  putting  his  papers  upon  the 
stand  beside  him,  leaned  back  in  his  heavy  Windsor 


Forest  Fires  123 

chair  and  gave  himself  up  to  thought.  Across  the 
comfortless  seas  flashed  his  mind  to  England.  He 
saw  it  as  only  an  Englishman  who  loves  it  can  see 
it — the  peaceful  green  fields,  long  tilled  by  honest 
custom,  yielding  hundredfold  bounties ;  the  huddling 
flocks  in  pastures  sweet,  safe  from  marauding  sav- 
age; the  dusky  circles  of  rooks  calling  above  the  tall 
elms  that  breasted  the  gray  old  tower ;  the  great  hall 
where  he  was  wont  to  sit  at  his  father's  feet,  the  stag- 
hounds  nosing  round  him,  listening  to  the  stories  of 
his  father's  fightings  in  the  Low  countries.  How 
different  the  childhood  of  his  daughter,  how  changed 
his  own  environment.  In  the  new  country  honors 
came  fast,  troubles  the  faster.  Verily  the  Colony 
had  travailed  into  existence. 

What  had  made  England  what  she  was  was  the 
amalgamation  of  the  greatest  and  strongest  of 
peoples.  This  had  not  come  in  a  day ;  centuries  had 
gone  to  the  wearing  away  of  national  peculiarities 
and  the  welding  into  one  nation  of  Anglo-Saxon, 
Norman  and  Dane.  Here  was  amalgamation,  but 
in  the  roughness  of  first  chaotic  mixture.  Political 
party,  national  prejudice,  religious  intolerance  rose 
up  hotly  whensoever  the  stress  of  subsistence  or  the 
necessity  of  protection  against  a  common  enemy 
were  for  a  moment  relaxed.  English  grudged  aliens 
the  right  of  representation;  Protestants  disallowed 
office  to  Catholics ;  Quakers,  smarting  under  indigni- 
ties suffered  in  the  old  country,  looked  with  jealous 
eye  upon  Cavalier  supremacy.  Small  remembrance 
there  was  that  in  the  Constitution,  which  the  great 
Locke  had  assisted  in  framing,  there  were  but  three 
conditions  of  citizenship — belief  in  God,  worship  of 


124  The  Carolinians 

Him,  attestation  to  this  belief  in  case  of  need.  And 
always  among  the  people  the  dissatisfaction  grew 
against  the  Proprietors  who  had  tempted  them  into 
the  wilderness,  and  here  left  them  to  be  harassed 
and  hunger-bitten,  to  hold  their  own  hardly  enough 
against  the  black  flag  by  sea  and  the  tomahawk  by 
land,  the  last  instigated  to  greater  rancor  by  the 
national  enemy  Spain,  now  firmly  established  in 
Florida. 

It  was  a  splendid  scheme  of  the  Proprietors  to 
found  this  empire  in  a  land  teeming  with  riches.  In 
the  first  flush  of  enterprise  they  poured  out  their  gold 
with  unstinted  hand.  No  man  ever  sailed  to  found 
a  colony  with  greater  promise  than  William  Sayle. 
The  first  enthusiasm  wore  away  and  with  it  the  free 
hand.  Always  from  over  seas  tales  of  disaster  and 
loss;  no  return  from  their  El  Dorado.  Engrossed 
with  affairs  of  lands  and  politics  at  home,  the  Colony 
was  no  longer  an  eager  and  hopeful  enterprise,  but 
a  troublesome  dependent,  and  so  they  tried  to  rid 
themselves  of  its  claims  upon  them  by  neglect ;  having 
once  put  their  hands  to  the  plough  they  drew  back. 

The  Colony,  forgetful  of  past  benefits,  resentful  of 
present  wrongs,  fretted  under  their  yoke  and  thought 
wishfully  of  the  King  and  the  King's  protection. 
Always  the  question  in  the  Governor's  mind  was, 
How  long  could  he  reconcile  these  people  to  its  lawful 
rulers  ?  And  yet  he  admitted  not  the  question  from 
another.  The  shadow  lengthened  upon  the  dial,  the 
Governor  drew  himself  up  with  a  start,  noted  the 
hour  by  his  repeater,  then,  crossing  to  where 
Damaris  drowsed,  kissed  her  brow  where  the  breeze 
lifted  the  little  damp  curls. 


Forest  Fires  125 

Still  half  asleep,  she  lifted  her  languid  arms  and 
clasped  them  about  his  neck,  raised  her  lips  velvety 
with  sleep  to  his,  then  she  opened  her  eyes,  made  like 
unto  a  little  child's  again  by  sleep. 

"Where  are  you  going,  father?"  she  asked 
drowsily. 

"To  the  Council  Chamber." 

"  Tis  always  the  Council  Chamber.  Methinks 
you  are  fuller  of  weighty  affairs  than  the  King  of 
England  himself." 

"And  so  perhaps  we  are  at  this  present,"  said  the 
Governor,  with  a  bitter  smile.  "Certes  we  are  than 
our  Lords  Proprietors." 

"You  need  a  woman  to  govern  you ;  they  are  ever 
wiser  than  men.  Look  at  good  Queen  Bess,  how 
royally  she  governed  Virginia.  A  woman  knows 
her  own  mind  and  holds  thereto,  nor  makes  she  a 
decision  a  matter  of  great  wordiness." 

"So  a  woman  knows  her  own  mind,  does  she, 
Mistress  Damaris?  I  wonder  if  a  certain  redoubt- 
able Captain  would  agree  thereto  ?  And  is  not  given 
to  great  wordiness."  Straight  into  her  innocent 
eyes  the  Governor  looked  and  smiled  inscrutably,  the 
while  Damaris  blushed  until  the  lace  on  her  kerchief 
almost  grew  pink  with  shame. 

"Only  word  for  word  she  gives  that  a  man  may 
not  feel  that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive,"  she  retorted. 

"Truly,  then  are  you  among  women  the  most 
blessed.  Further,  I  dare  say,  you  are  right;  there 
are  times  when  your  cavaliers  do  not  altogether  feel 
the  blessedness  of  receiving.  Good-by,  go  to  sleep 


126  The  Carolinians 

again;  some  one  is  out  of  harm's  way  when  you 
sleep." 

Damaris  shook  her  finger  menacingly  after  the 
retreating  figure,  then  rising,  stretched  herself  lan- 
guidly, the  breeze  catching  the  folds  of  her  rose- 
flowered  gown.  "Heigh-ho,  Damaris  Johnson,  you 
are  a  sluggard,  sleeping  away  the  golden  hours.  It 
must  be  something  in  the  sun  of  this  strange  land, 
something  in  the  breath  of  its  flowers.  You  must 
be  up  and  doing  ere  you  grow  old  and  gray  in  rest. 
Robbins,  Robbins!"  she  called  to  a  man  passing 
through  the  shrubbery.  The  laborer  doffed  his  cap 
and  approached. 

"At  your  service,  Mistress."  He  was  a  covenant 
servant  run  away  from  Virginia. 

"Order  my  horse  to  be  saddled.  Ask  Sergeant 
McLeod  to  attend  me.  I  will  ride  to  the  plantation 
in  half  hour  sharp,  if  you  please." 

Upon  the  minute  the  horses  were  at  the  block, 
Sergeant  McLeod,  booted  and  spurred,  in  ready 
attendance.  The  tip  of  her  pointed  shoe  in  his  hand, 
Damaris  flew  like  a  bird  to  her  perch,  patted  Comet's 
red  gold  neck,  gathered  the  reins  into  her  hand, 
swung  out  of  the  gate  unbarred  for  her,  and  a 
moment  later  was  cantering  up  the  narrow  street 
that  led  to  the  thoroughfare,  and  thence  to  the  town 
walls,  Sergeant  McLeod  clattering  behind  her. 

Through  the  soft  dirt  streets,  now  thick  with  dust, 
rolled  the  heavy  chariots,  ablaze  with  quarterings,  in 
which  the  women  of  fashion,  still  clinging  to  the 
pomp  of  the  Old  World,  took  their  airings.  Out 
of  them  bowed  plumed  heads,  and  chapeaux  were 
lifted  as  she  cantered  by. 


Forest  Fires  127 

Up  Meeting  street  she  rode  at  a  sharp  pace,  past 
the  English  Church  and  the  White  Meeting  House 
of  the  Dissenters  that  gave  to  the  street  its  name, 
straight  on  to  the  town  gate,  where  the  sentry 
saluted  and  opened  for  her  with  as  great  deference 
as  to  the  Governor  himself. 

Once  in  the  open,  on  the  beautiful  roadway  cloven 
deep  into  the  heart  of  green  fastnesses  lush  and 
luxuriant,  she  raised  herself  in  her  stirrup  and  gave 
the  jubilant  cry  of  a  bird  uncaged.  With  the  slack- 
ened rein  Comet  gave  a  forward  plunge  and  was 
away  like  a  racer  upon  the  first  quarter,  whereupon 
Mistress  Damaris  composed  herself  right  firmly  in 
the  saddle,  mastered  her  reins  with  great  expedition, 
and  the  faithful  Sergeant  must  needs  spur  his  hunter 
into  a  running  accompaniment. 

Through  the  semi-tropical  forest  the  road  led  out 
straitly  from  the  town.  Gnarled  branches  groined 
the  arches  of  live-oak  domes,  mosses  like  grey-beards 
in  tatters  made  hoary  the  vistas;  palmettoes  raised 
their  crowned  heads  above  a  world  of  underlings; 
cypresses  stood  knee-deep  in  water,  black,  shadowy, 
mysterious ;  magnolias  in  fragrant  languor  made  the 
thirsty  air  faint  with  desire;  sunshine,  moonshine, 
starshine,  woven  into  winged  gauze,  darted  and 
quivered  and  dazzled  in  leafage  and  open;  terrapins 
and  frogs  dropped  from  their  sunning  into  sunless 
waters ;  snakes  spotted  and  barred  slipped  and  slided 
under  water-plants  evil-spotted  as  themselves ;  every- 
where the  hot  tang  of  the  fecund  soil,  the  mysterious 
palpitation  of  the  procreating  earth  quick  with  life. 

Now  and  again  they  passed  plantations,  passed  the 
minister's  house  with  its  goodly  garden  and  stead- 
ing, crossed  bits  of  marshland  where  sleepy  waters 


128  The  Carolinians 

drowsed  and  flocks  of  marsh  hens  rose  screaming. 
Upon  a  narrow  causeway  that  led  across  jagged 
tongues  of  marshland  a  horseman  overtook  them. 
Hearing  the  hoof-beats,  Damaris  looked  around,  and 
when  she  saw  Captain  Maynard  she  wished  from 
her  heart  that  it  might  have  been  Black  Beard  or 
Vane  who  came  riding  behind  her.  Before  her 
stretched  the  causeway,  on  either  hand  black  sloughs 
set  with  tussocks  of  marsh  against  which  alligators 
raised  their  black  snouts ;  there  was  no  escape  save 
in  full  flight  and  the  Johnsons  had  never  been  known 
to  fly  in  the  face  of  a  foe.  According  to  provincial 
usage,  he  would  feel  that  he  must  join  her,  and  both 
of  them  would  thereby  be  made  to  feel  vastly  uncom- 
fortable. The  bitterness  and  hurt  in  her  heart  that 
she  had  been  striving  to  stifle  during  these  last 
months,  became  a  hard  and  vengeful  thing. 

When  he  rode  up  and  greeted  her,  her  face  wore 
the  bomb-proof  smile  of  a  well-bred  woman,  but  the 
heart  within  was  in  the  state  of  a  savage. 

"Good-afternoon,  Mistress  Damaris." 

"Good-afternoon,  Captain  Maynard." 

"You  ride  far  this  afternoon." 

"I  ride  to  the  plantation." 

"I  will  wish  you  a  pleasant  ride  and  pray  you 
excuse  the  liberty  I  take  in  passing  you,  since  I  am 
pressed  for  time." 

"Certainly,  I  can  well  dispense  with  your  com- 
pany, and  bid  you  good-afternoon." 

"Good-afternoon."  And  a  moment  later  his  tall 
bay  had  carried  him  well  ahead. 


Forest  Fires  129 

Damaris's  hand  relaxed,  her  rein  fell  slackly  upon 
Comet's  neck;  once  again  had  come  to  her  a  great 
awakening  and  a  great  shock. 

Physics  tell  us  that  fire  does  not  turn  to  ice  nor  ice 
to  fire  a  hundred  times  in  a  hundred  seconds,  but  a 
woman  knows  better,  and  what  is  more,  when  those 
moments  are  past  a  woman  is  made  over  again. 
When  Damaris's  hundred  seconds  were  over  she 
looked  with  new  eyes  upon  a  world  which  she  seemed 
to  see  for  the  first  time. 

A  woman's  vanity  roots  deep,  its  fibres  net  the 
unconscious  source  of  all  her  actions.  That  is  a 
very  hard  hour  for  her  when  she  finds  for  the  first 
time  that  the  world's  appreciation  has  been  gauged 
with  false  weights.  The  first  unconscious  creed  of 
a  rational  woman  is  faith  in  herself;  losing  this  she 
stands  affrighted,  for  surely  must  everything  else  be 
wrong  too. 

Until  now,  whatever  her  angry  speculations  as  to 
Captain  Maynard's  conduct,  against  reason,  and 
unconsciously  to  herself,  she  had  given  him  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt,  hoping  always  that  matters 
might  be  explained  or  justify  themselves  in  some 
way.  Circumstances  were  all  against  him,  but  when 
one  is  twenty,  one  is  superior  to  circumstance  and 
ignores  the  proof  of  the  ages.  Now  for  every 
reserve  of  charity  with  which  she  had  regarded  him 
there  rose  up  a  hundred  rancors.  And  to  these 
rancors  was  added  the  venom  of  serpent's  teeth 
when,  upon  riding  through  a  copse  and  out  into  the 
open  a  while  later,  she  discovered  Captain  May- 
nard  upon  a  cross-way,  reins  hanging  slackly,  horse 
browsing  in  leisurely  fashion  upon  the  roadside 


130  The  Carolinians 

herbage.  Her  errand  at  the  plantation  consumed 
some  time,  and  when  she  started  homewards  a  low 
sun  was  shining  slackly  on  the  slanting  shadows,  a 
damp  wind  made  it  almost  chill.  She  put  her  horse 
into  a  canter,  and  after  a  mile  came  upon  Captain 
Maynard  around  a  curve.  Before  she  could  take 
action  of  any  kind  he  turned  his  horse  across  the 
road. 

"You  ride  late;  it  is  not  well." 

"Excuse  me,  Captain  Maynard,  but  until  I  ask 
for  your  criticism  upon  my  affairs  you  may  spare 
yourself  the  trouble  of  giving  it.  Will  you  be  so 
kind  as  to  unblock  the  King's  highway  that  I  and 
my  escort  may  pass  ?" 

"That  is  just  the  matter  in  hand.  I  cannot  un- 
block the  King's  highway,  neither  may  you  pass." 

"I  may  not  pass !  What  do  you  mean?"  she  asked 
angrily. 

"Even  this,  that  you  may  not  go  on ;  I  cannot 
permit  you  to  do  so." 

"How  dare  you  speak  in  such  manner  to  me ;  how 
dare  interfere  with  me." 

"If  you  will  give  me  a  moment  I  will  be  pleased 
to  tell  you,  Mistress  Damaris.  By  the  Three  Bridges, 
as  I  came  along,  I  saw  redskins  lurking  in  the 
thicket." 

"And  pray  what  are  a  few  friendly  Indians?"  she 
asked  scornfully.  "I  pass  scores  of  them  in  the 
week." 

"Friendly  Indians  do  not  lurk  under  cover.  They 
are  likely  some  straggling  Yamassees  bent  upon 
mischief." 


Forest  Fires  131 

"I  hazard  that  they  were  no  Indians;  your  mind 
is  wont  to  run  upon  them ;  likely  'twas  some  red  deer 
in  the  thicket.  With  Sergeant  McLeod  I  have  no 
fear;  I  will  haste  to  ride  on." 

"I  pray  you  listen  to  reason,  Mistress  Damaris; 
you  cannot  go  on." 

"I  do  not  consider  your  nervous  apprehension 
reasonable.  I  intend  to  ride  straight  to  the  town 
and  that  without  further  parley.  Good-evening." 

"Mistress  Damaris,  I  beseech  you — " 

"Stand  aside,  Captain  Maynard,  and  allow  me  to 
pass !"  she  commanded  haughtily. 

"I  cannot,  will  not !"  stoutly  replied  the  Captain. 

She  raised  her  whip  angrily  and  was  about  to  lay 
it  across  his  horse.  He  wheeled  it  suddenly,  came 
closer  to  her,  his  face  resolute,  his  voice  masterful. 

"You  shall  not  ride  home  by  the  highway;  you 
do  not  know  what  you  would  risk.  What  would 
Sergeant  McLeod  and  I  be  against  a  dozen  savages  ? 
I  have  dealt  with  you  thus  far  as  I  would  with  any 
sensible  woman ;  now  if  you  will  not  listen  to  reason 
I  must  treat  you  as  a  child.  I  warn  you,  if  you 
attempt  to  pass  I  will  lift  you  from  your  saddle  and 
carry  you  before  me." 

"You  dare  not." 

"I  have  dared  a  good  deal  in  my  time.  I  will 
show  you  if  you  like."  There  was  a  determination 
in  the  way  the  long,  strong  arm  swung  toward  her 
that  was  very  convincing. 

White  and  angry,  Damaris  entrenched  herself  in 
her  silent  rage.  She  had  never  been  so  angry  before 
in  her  life.  To  be  beholden  to  Captain  Maynard 
for  protection  was  more  than  her  pride  could  bear. 


132  The  Carolinians 

"I  would  scorn  to  answer  such  a  threat,"  she 
answered  contemptuously,  "but  may  I  inquire  what 
you  propose  to  do,  camp  here  in  this  swamp  a  prey 
to  mosquitoes  and  agues?" 

"I  propose  that  we  shall  ride  around  by  a  road 
known  to  me,  that  is  little  more  than  a  trail.  There 
are  in  it  several  good  jumps,  to  which  I  believe  both 
you  and  Comet  are  equal.  By  so  going  we  will  put 
stretches  of  creek  and  impassable  swamp  between  us 
and  the  possible  danger." 

"I  do  not  believe  that  such  a  circuitous  course  is 
necessary." 

"Unfortunately,  your  belief  has  nothing  to  do 
with  it." 

"If  I  were  to  agree — "  she  began  tentatively. 

"It  is  not  necessary.  You  can  go  just  as  safely 
without.  I  caught  a  young  squaw  once  who  was 
going  to  give  an  alarm  and  carried  her  for  ten  miles. 
She  fought  like  a  tiger  cat,  but  she  reached  camp  all 
right." 

"How  dare  you  compare  me  with  a  savage  ?" 

"I  do  not.  Civilization  had  not  refined  her 
cruelty." 

"What  do  you  mean  to  insinuate?" 

"I  insinuate  nothing;  I  simply  mentioned  the 
savage  lady  who  was  not  given  a  choice.  I  have 
stated  the  terms  of  the  convoy ;  you  can  decide  as  it 
pleases  you.  Do  not  hurry  yourself;  my  father  is 
accustomed  to  the  irregularity  of  my  movements 
and  will  not  be  alarmed.  I  find  this  opportunity  for 
solitary  and  protracted  conversation  the  happiest  of 
my  life;  I  pray  you  do  not  shorten  it." 


Forest  Fires  133 

Damaris  blushed  furiously ;  she  was  hardly  placed, 
and  her  opponent  was  ruthless,  taking  advantage  of 
every  weak  place  in  her  position.  When  she  thought 
of  her  father  she  knew  that  she  must  surrender,  and 
that  right  speedily — for  him  she  would  do  that  which 
she  would  not  do  for  herself. 

"Ride  on,  Captain  Maynard.  To  spare  my  father 
anxiety  I  will  follow,  albeit  against  my  judgment," 
she  commanded,  head  up,  eyes  flashing  and  the 
angriest  heart  that  could  be  found  in  the  Seven 
Nations. 

"So  you  go,  it  matters  not  how  you  go,"  he  replied 
quietly,  and  turning  about  he  struck  off  into  a  road 
that  led  to  the  left,  Damaris  riding  ever  in  silence 
behind  him  whenever  the  road  gave  her  an  excuse 
therefor,  the  faithful  and  impassive  McLeod  bring- 
ing up  the  rear. 

It  was  not  very  easy  for  Captain  Maynard  to  make 
conversation  under  the  circumstances — it  were  easier 
for  a  man  to  speak  of  a  woman  behind  her  back  than 
to  speak  to  her  when  she  is  behind  his.  Also  when 
the  woman's  vocabulary  seems  limited  to  yes  and 
no;  likewise  when  he  knows  that  Aetna's  volcanic 
overflow  would  be  cool  compared  with  what  would 
overwhelm  him  if  once  she  gave  voice  to  her  mood. 

Young  blood  would  have  rioted  in  that  ride  in 
the  gloaming  had  hearts  been  less  antagonistic. 
Neck  to  neck  they  would  have  ridden,  the  warm 
flanks  of  their  horses  pressed  close,  riders  and  steeds 
alike  glad  of  comradeship.  It  was  an  hour  in  which 
to  draw  close  to  a  kindred  soul  and  rejoice  in  its 
nearness.  While  nature  is  shifting  the  scenes 
between  the  acts  we  seem  to  come  closer  to  her  and 


134  The  Carolinians 

to  each  other.  When  the  curtain  is  down  upon  the 
audience  mother  and  children  are  known  of  each 
other  and  speak  to  each  other  in  the  heart's  simple 
tongue.  Wonderful  it  was  in  the  forest  and  of  a 
weirdness  passing  words.  The  darkness  was  plain- 
tive with  the  wail  of  whippoorwill,  eery  with  the 
hooting  of  owls,  alligators  bellowed,  frogs  croaked 
and  trebled  till  the  air  was  thick  with  sound. 

Overhead  through  the  cloven  branches  shone  the 
serene  stars,  and  like  star-dust  powdering  the 
shadows,  drifted  the  haze  of  fire-flies. 

Set  apart  by  bitterness  at  flood  tide  rode  the  two, 
the  mysterious  forces  of  nature  having  no  power  to 
touch  them ;  where  strife  is  there  dwells  the  blindness 
of  the  unseeing. 

Gleams  and  glows  of  redness  came  sifting  through 
the  blackness,  a  warm,  resinous  breath  filled  their 
nostrils.  "Forest  fires !"  exclaimed  Captain  May- 
nard,  looking  around  uneasily. 

Damaris  vouchsafed  no  reply.  She  still  rode  very 
erect,  hard  eyes  and  a  harder  heart.  Captain  May- 
nard  had  long  since  withheld  from  vain  attempts  at 
conversation,  and  he  did  not  trouble  to  look  into  her 
eyes,  so  their  hardness  offended  him  not. 

The  air  grew  more  lurid,  the  forest  more  gro- 
tesque ;  tall  pines  burned  their  lightwood  knobs  redly 
aloft;  like  demons  at  play  the  trees  reached  their 
flame-arms  over  black  waters,  and  out  of  black 
waters  beckoned  shadowy  flame-arms  to  them;  now 
and  again  there  fell  with  a  hiss  a  burning  brand  into 
the  water. 

Startled  birds,  chirping  drowsily,  flew  heavily 
through  the  resinous  smoke.  Across  the  roadway 


Forest  Fires  135 

now  and  again  was  blown  the  breath  of  the  flames, 
but  fortunately  the  forest  was  set  in  swamps  and 
thus  only  the  driest  trees  took  fire. 

Suddenly,  just  ahead  of  them,  a  tremendous  crash. 
Out  of  the  heavens  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  seemed 
to  come  thundering  down  to  light  up  an  earthly 
firmament.  The  affrighted  horses  plunged,  quivered 
and  were  hardly  restrained.  Prone  across  the  road 
lay  a  mighty  pine,  fire-girt  at  its  base,  fire-tipped  and 
fire-verned,  quivering  with  flame  as  it  settled  its 
burning  length. 

Damaris  wheeled  her  trembling  horse  in  front  of 
Captain  Maynard.  Comet  danced  and  plunged,  but 
she  heeded  him  not  save  with  a  firm  hand. 

"So  'tis  to  this  that  you  have  brought  me  with 
your  superior  wisdom !"  she  cried  with  angry  un- 
reason. 

"I  would  I  could  tell  you  how  grieved  I  am,  but 
I  could  not  foresee  this,"  he  said  miserably. 

"How  long  will  we  have  to  wait  here?"  she  asked 
bitterly,  every  added  moment  an  angry  offense  to 
her. 

"Until  that  log  burns  through." 

"Impossible !" 

"We  cannot  pass  around,  the  swamp  is 
treacherous." 

"I  will  try  for  myself." 

"Just  as  you  please.  You  will  most  likely  bog 
your  horse  and  the  water  is  full  of  snakes  and 
alligators." 

She  urged  her  horse  defiantly  toward  the  edge, 
while  Captain  Maynard  bided  his  time  with  a  ready 
hand.  A  snake  glided  hissing  out  of  the  flags  into 


136  The  Carolinians 

which  Comet  set  his  feet,  and  Damaris  quickly 
jerked  him  back  into  the  road,  with  a  cry  of  disgust. 

Captain  Maynard  smiled  grimly.  He  whispered 
a  word  to  the  Sergeant,  who,  turning  his  horse 
facing  the  way  they  had  come,  kept  his  eyes  alert 
and  his  hand  on  his  holster. 

The  watchful  eyes  of  the  Captain  were  seldom 
still;  they  swept  the  red  reaches  of  the  forest  and 
penetrated  the  shadows.  Sometimes,  in  passing, 
they  rested  upon  Damaris' s  white  face. 

"I  am  very  sorry  that  this  has  happened,"  he  said 
gently. 

"You  need  not  concern  yourself  on  my  account," 
she  replied  shortly. 

"I  do  not;  'tis  of  your  father  I  think,"  he 
answered  coolly. 

"It  is  well.  I  would  rather  die  than  be  beholden 
to  you  for  even  one  thought,"  she  said  bitterly. 

He  rode  a  little  nearer  to  her.  In  the  red  light 
that  flamed  warmly  upon  it  he  saw  the  concentrated 
anger  and  bitterness,  all  unmeet  for  the  cause,  he 
thought. 

"Do  you  not  think  that  you  are  over-acting  a 
little?  What  have  I  done  to  justify  such  words 
from  you  ?"  he  asked  gravely. 

"Dare  you  heap  insult  upon  injury  by  asking?" 

"Truly,  I  do  not  understand  you — the  moods  of 
a  woman  are  indeed  beyond  my  kenning.  That  I 
have  been  hardly  placed  is  my  misfortune.  To  pre- 
vent your  running  into  danger  I  was  compelled  to 
cross  your  humor ;  to  make  threats  I  was  obliged  by 
your  wilfulness.  That  you  would  resent  my  thwart- 
ing you  I  expected — women  are  evef  prone  to  anger 


Forest  Fires  137 

when  they  know  themselves  to  be  at  fault ;  that  you 
would  carry  petulance  to  such  an  extreme  I  did  not 
dream.  To  do  my  duty  to  the  Governor  I  was  com- 
pelled to  set  aside  the  unreason  of  his  daughter ;  and 
to  sum  up  the  matter,  I  have  put  aside  what  has 
recently  passed  between  us  and  have  acted  as  I 
would,  upon  the  same  occasion,  to  any  woman !"  he 
spoke  hotly. 

"I  envy  you  the  ease  with  which  you  set  aside  such 
things,"  she  retorted  scornfully.  "For  my  part,  the 
shame  of  it  will  remain  with  me  always." 

"Again  I  think  that  you  have  given  to  tragedy 
the  part  of  comedy." 

"To  you  it  may  be  comedy,  Captain  Maynard ;  to 
me  it  is  tragedy  unalloyed." 

"Let  us  turn  the  tragedy  into  comedy,  Mistress 
Damaris,  and  we  will  call  it  'All's  Well  That  Ends 
Well.'  " 

"So  be  it,  Captain  Maynard,  and  to  end  well  to 
me  will  mean  that  after  this  night  there  be  no  further 
converse  between  us." 

"Nay,  I  asked  not  to  turn  it  into  some  mummer's 
masque;  rather  would  I  prefer  some  goodly  melo- 
drama— 'Love  for  Love,'  let  us  say." 

"Then  must  you  seek  Mrs.  Oldfield  in  Covent 
Garden." 

"Which  would  be  but  a  sorry  imitation,  be  Mr. 
Gongreve  never  so  great  a  wit  and  Mrs.  Oldfield  the 
first  star  of  the  footlights." 

"So  great  a  wit  you  have  grown,  Captain  May- 
nard, that  would  you  leave  off  harrying  beasts  and 
exterminating  Indians  you  might  sail  to  London  and 


138  The  Carolinians 

hold  your  own  at  Will's  with  the  learned  Dean,  and 
Mr.  Steele  and  Mr.  Addison  would  sit  at  your  feet." 

"Nay,  but  I  would  tell  them  of  Mistress  Damaris 
over  seas ;  how  a  man  learnt  wit  who  sat  at  her  feet — 
then  would  the  glory  be  yours." 

"The  glory  of  this  world  passeth  away." 

"Not  so  swiftly  as  a  woman's  love,  that  is  as  the 
first  frost  on  the  fields." 

"That  is  as  the  everlasting  hills  compared  with  a 
man's.  But  a  truce  to  the  making  of  idle  speeches ; 
of  words  have  I  had  more  than  enough  from  you — 
truly  they  are  as  empty  as  air  and  an  offense  to  me." 

"As  it  pleases  you,"  replied  he  stiffly,  and  relapsed 
into  grim  silence. 

For  some  time  the  silence  lasted.  Damaris  grew 
restless,  for  now  that  her  foe  was  silenced,  with 
the  perversity  of  woman  she  hungered  after  words. 
Furthermore,  the  unreality  of  the  surroundings 
began  to  oppress  her.  She  felt  as  though  she  were 
losing  her  identity.  Some  power  beyond  seemed  to 
be  drawing  her  outside  of  herself,  back  into  the 
universal  spirit.  Suddenly  she  seemed  to  become  a 
part  of  the  earth  and  the  water,  the  air  and  the  flame ; 
a  quickened  part  of  the  sentient  life  that  swam  and 
flew,  that  glided  and  breathed  about  her ;  there  would 
be  relief  in  the  sound  of  a  human  voice. 

"I  did  not  know  that  you  were  afraid  of  Indians," 
she  spoke  tauntingly  when  she  could  stand  it  no 
longer.  Answer  there  was  none,  save  the  crackling 
of  burning  branches,  the  hungry,  hot-breathed  roar 
of  the  flames  as  they  licked  out  the  rich  heart  of  the 
forest.  "I  think  that  I  would  rather  prefer  being 
scalped  by  savages  to  being  roasted  alive.  This  is 


Forest  Fires  139 

protracted  torture;  at  best  the  daylight  will  find  us 
here.  Every  moment  is  hateful  to  me,"  she  solilo- 
quized. 

Captain  Maynard  shifted  uneasily  in  his  saddle;  a 
moment  later  he  dismounted.  Damaris  heard  the 
squelching  of  his  boots  as  he  floundered  in  the  black 
ooze  of  the  swamp.  Having  tried  it  unsuccessfully 
in  various  directions,  he  came  back  and  stood  by  his 
horse  in  thought.  Afterwards  he  went  close  to  the 
burning  tree  and  tried  to  kick  off  the  upmost 
branches,  but  a  shower  of  sparks  and  burning  twigs 
enveloped  him,  sending  him  back  to  his  horse  with 
scorched  garments  and  smarting  eyes. 

A  half  hour  more  of  tense  silence.  In  the  dis- 
tance the  cry  of  a  wolf.  A  deer  leaped  out  of  the 
swamp  and  ran  down  the  road  behind  them.  The 
branches  burned  lower ;  like  fiery  fingers  they  stood 
above  the  tree  some  three  feet  high.  Damaris  meas- 
ured the  fiery  hurdle  with  her  eye. 

"Now  I  am  going  home !"  she  cried  defiantly,  and 
before  her  companion  could  even  guess  at  the  reck- 
less thing  she  would  do,  she  put  Comet  into  a  swing- 
ing canter  and  rode  to  the  log.  The  beautiful 
creature  paused  and  quivered  for  a  moment  before 
the  blazing  hurdle.  Damaris's  hand  was  upon  his 
neck,  she  raised  herself  in  her  stirrup,  then  at  a  word 
he  gathered  himself  together  and  with  a  splendid 
bound  cleared  the  cordon  of  fire. 

The  hearts  of  the  two  men  behind  her  stood  in 
their  throats,  a  madder  or  a  more  beautiful  sight  they 
had  never  seen — the  scarlet  flames  licked  at  her  flow- 
ing skirts  and  tongued  the  red-gold  flanks  of  her 
horse  as  he  cleared  the  hedge  of  fire. 


140  The  Carolinians 

Captain  Maynard  put  spurs  to  his  horse  to  follow, 
but  even  as  he  did  so  the  burning  trunk  suddenly 
shivered,  grew  dull  and  fell  away  from  the  upward 
branches,  and  with  an  easy  bound  he  cleared  the 
glowing  log,  Sergeant  McLeod  following  him. 

"Heavens,  what  nerve!  She  always  was  con- 
foundedly plucky,"  said  Maynard  to  himself  when 
he  could  think.  He  tried  to  laugh,  but  the  muscles 
in  his  throat  were  stiff  and  hard.  How  a  laugh 
would  have  eased  him.  His  eyes  were  those  of  a 
man  who  had  looked  upon  death  at  a  hand's  breadth, 
and  there  was  a  numbness  in  his  limbs  and  a  coldness 
at  his  heart.  He  would  not,  however,  gratify 
Damaris  by  showing  either  surprise  or  condemna- 
tion, but  treated  it  as  a  matter  of  no  concern  when 
he  overtook  her,  and  there  was  no  trace  of  disturb- 
ance in  his  face. 

"I  think  we  may  reach  home  in  less  than  an  hour," 
he  said  quietly.  "I  am  truly  sorry  that  this  ride  was 
so  unfortunately  prolonged.  This  last  mischance 
could  not  have  been  foreseen,  and  at  worst  'twas 
better  than  the  risk  of  the  other.  I  am  glad  that  the 
ride  is  nearly  ended." 

"Then  we  are  quits." 

"As  you  say." 

There  came  another  silence.  Martin  Maynard 
was  trying  to  find  words  for  the  feeling  that  was 
fast  mastering  him.  She  had  goaded  him  to  des- 
peration, flouted  and  reviled  him,  met  him  with 
anger  'and  unreason  at  every  turn,  yet  such  is  the 
heart  of  man,  such  the  power  of  a  woman's  person- 
ality, such  the  unsettling  forces  of  proximity  and 
isolation,  that  strongly  and  more  strongly  she  had 


Forest  Fires  141 

been  drawing  him  to  her  during  the  hours  of  forced 
companionship,  and  now  in  a  moment  the  whole 
energies  of  his  nature  were  bent  upon  accomplishing 
that  which  he  had  solemnly  sworn  never  to  do  again. 
He  rested  his  hand  upon  her  saddle  and  began  in  a 
voice  not  quite  sure  of  itself. 

"May  we  .not  start  over  again,  Damaris,  you 
and  I?" 

"Right  willingly,  albeit  we  start  at  the  opposite 
poles  of  the  earth,"  she  answered  disdainfully, 
ignoring  the  pleading  manhood  in  his  eyes. 

"See  here,  Damaris,"  he  continued  unabashed, 
for  the  spirit  of  conquest  had  risen  strongly  within 
him  now  that  his  resolve  was  taken,  "you  shall  listen 
to  me,  listen  to  the  end.  A  truce  to  jesting,  I  am 
no  be-ribboned  dandy  who  lives  upon  bandied  words. 
It  were  well  enough  to  laugh  and  play  when  one's 
heart  is  light ;  mine  has  been  heavy  for  many  a  day. 
I  have  sometimes  thought  that  I  was  a  little  hard 
upon  you  that  night,  a  little  unwise  to  force  an  issue 
there  and  then  when  your  thoughts  were  full  of  your 
triumphs.  Perchance  I  was  not  fair,  but  it  is  hard 
for  a  man  to  be  fair  with  a  woman,  she  is  sp 
different ;  and  what  means  so  much  to  her  means  so 
little  to  him.  Furthermore,  when  a  man  is  in  love 
he  does  not  see  quite  clearly  the  things  that  concern 
his  happiness.  Something  that  you  said  back  yonder 
to-night  has  set  me  a-thinking.  Somewhere,  I  think, 
there  must  be  something  wrong.  You  mean  more 
than  you  say,  allude  to  something  I  cannot  under- 
stand. I  am  slower  of  wit,  I  cannot  follow  you.  I 
love  you,  Damaris,  and  love  is  more  than  pride.  I 
will  do  or  say  anything  that  you  ask.  Do  as  you 


142  The  Carolinians 

will  with  me,  only  love  me.  If  there  is  anything 
that  I  can  set  straight,  tell  me  and  give  me  another 
chance." 

"You  have  had  your  chance,"  she  answered 
lightly,  though  her  heart  had  bounded  as  a  bird 
from  the  net  of  the  fowler  at  the  thought  of  a 
possible  explanation  of  all  that  was  terrible  in  the 
past. 

"A  man  needs  a  thousand  chances  with  a  woman 
such  as  you,  and  would  try  for  them  all  as  he  would 
for  his  life !"  he  pleaded  warmly. 

"You  have  lost  your  chance,"  she  answered,  per- 
versely playing  with  the  issue  to  gain  time  from  her 
fluttering  heart's  insistence. 

"I  will  find  it  again,"  he  answered  stoutly.  He 
threw  back  his  head  and  his  voice  rang  with  the 
pride  that  a  man  feels  when  he  thinks  that  he  sees 
the  hoped-for  goal  in  sight. 

That  note  of  pride  worked  his  undoing.  It 
wakened  again  her  pride,  which  had  been  so  near 
the  point  of  surrender.  In  a  moment  she  had  hard- 
ened her  heart  against  him  as  in  the  day  of  provoca- 
tion. As  a  great  wave  that  sweeps  over  a  country 
and  destroys  its  landmarks,  so  the  isolation  and  lone- 
liness of  the  forest  had  blotted  out  the  past  for  a 
time,  levelled  its  barriers  and  made  an  open  sea  over 
which  they  might  pass.  Now  the  waves  receded 
swiftly  and  bared  the  rugged  distance  between  them. 

Anger  at  the  thought  of  her  temporary  weakness 
made  her  reckless. 

"I  have  other  views,"  she  answered  haughtily, 
"views  that  hold  no  thought  of  you." 


Forest  Fires  143 

"So  I  feared,"  he  answered  miserably,  blinded  by 
his  love  from  a  clearer  view  of  the  situation.  ''I 
am  a  fool — just  your  plaything,  nothing  more.  God 
forgive  me,  but  I  was  glad  to  be  played  with.  I 
never  had  a  chance  from  the  first  save  to  amuse  you. 
What  is  love  to  you?  A  pastime,  nothing  more. 
Think  of  it,  ye  mighty  men  of  old !"  he  ended  with 
savage  scorn,  straightening  himself  in  the  saddle  and 
swinging  out  his  long,  strong  arms.  "Six  feet  of 
solid  bone  and  brawn,  a  strong  hand  and  red  blood, 
just  a  woman's  careless  plaything  to  be  brushed 
aside  as  a  fly  when  he  buzzes  too  loudly  in  my  lady's 
ear!" 

Hurt  she  was.  A  choking  hurt  that  stopped  her 
words  and  made  her  sway  in  her  saddle.  All  the 
waters  of  bitterness  rolled  over  her  head  and  dimmed 
her  vision.  His  angry  eyes  were  set  hard  in  the 
distance,  he  did  not  see  the  drawn  face  nor  the 
wavering  hand,  and  so  with  a  woman's  pride  she 
gathered  herself  together  again  and  went  on  bravely 
in  the  wrong  way  where  all  was  darkness  before  her, 
shutting  her  heart  and  eyes  to  the  light  that  had 
been  so  near. 

And  so,  like  mariners  who  mistake  the  beacon, 
they  drifted  out  again  upon  the  troubled  sea. 

Just  without  the  gates  of  the  town  they  came  upon 
a  body  of  men  headed  by  the  Governor.  They  rode 
in  grim  silence,  heavily  armed.  The  Governor  was 
the  first  to  recognize  the  three  figures  riding  toward 
them,  and  Damaris,  seeing  him,  instantly  called  out 
gaily  with  a  glad  cry : 


144  The  Carolinians 

"Oh,  father,  such  a  fine  adventure  have  we  had ! 
It  was  vastly  diverting — Indians  and  rattlesnakes 
and  forest  fires.  I  feel  like  a  frontiersman !" 

"Thank  God  you  are  safe!"  exclaimed  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  in  the  sight  of  them  all  clasped  her  in  his 
arms,  and  then  there  crowded  about  her  those  joyful 
men  who  had  set  grim  faces  toward  the  forest  in 
search  of  her,  with  they  knew  not  what  of  foreboding 
in  their  hearts. 

Mr.  Yonge  was  there -with  his  admiration  and 
jest,  Mr.  Allein  with  his  hearty  welcome,  Mr.  Skrine 
with  vociferous  sighs  of  thankfulness,  his  pudgy 
hand  glued  fast  to  his  heart ;  Sir  Hovenden  Walker, 
too,  and  Mr.  Maynard;  indeed,  well-nigh  all  the 
gentlemen  of  distinction  in  the  town,  besides  a  troop 
of  Colonial  cavalry. 

"Gramercy,  gentlemen,  you  make  me  feel  quite  a 
person  of  quality !" 

"And  so  you  are,  since  it  takes  all  the  King's 
horses  and  all  the  King's  men  to  fetch  you,"  said 
Francis  Yonge. 

"And  glad  am  I  to  be  fetched.  Your  considera- 
tion touches  me  greatly,  gentlemen ;  I  would  I  could 
thank  you  in  fitting  words,"  she  said  with  a  tremor 
in  her  voice,  smiling  around  upon  them. 

"Next  to  our  Governor  is  his  daughter,"  said  Mr. 
Allein. 

"It  is  an  honor.  It  is  a  pleasure.  There  is  no 
need  of  thanks.  Your  safety  is  thanks  enough," 
cried  one  and  all. 

"Nay,  Mistress  Damaris,  were  you  not  giving  us 
pain  it  would  scarcely  be  your  fair  self.  Frail 


Forest  Fires  145 

woman  is  ever  the  disturber  of  our  peace,"  added 
Mr.  Yonge. 

"And  point  for  your  wit,"  she  answered  promptly. 

"And  theme  of  our  song  and  heart  of  our  story," 
he  retorted. 

"Marry,  Yonge,  a  truce  to  your  nonsense;  we 
would  hear  the  story  of  their  adventure." 

And  the  story  was  told  with  comment  and  exclam- 
ation. At  the  mention  of  Indians  there  was  great 
heat  to  be  after  them  straightway,  the  Governor 
himself  proposing  to  lead  them. 

"Pardon  me,  your  Honor,  but  I  would  suggest 
that  you  ride  homeward  with  Mistress  Damaris,  who 
is  somewhat  spent,  and  with  your  permission,  and 
that  of  these  gentlemen,  I  will  lead  them  to  the  spot 
where  the  rascals  harbored.  Mayhap  we  may  come 
upon  some  trace  of  them  or  their  mischief." 

This  plan  being  agreeable  to  the  general  humor, 
Governor  Johnson  wrung  Captain  Maynard's  hand 
with  repeated  words  of  gratitude.  Mistress  Damaris 
bade  a  gracious  good-night  to  the  party,  with  down- 
cast eyes  spoke  a  few  courteous  words  to  Captain 
Maynard,  then  side  by  side  with  the  Governor  turned 
her  face  toward  the  town  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

FAITHFUL    UNTO    DEATH 

"Our  business  is  like  men  to  fight, 
And  hero-like  to  die." 

— Motherwell. 

The  sultry  months  of  July  and  August  had  passed 
quietly  and  uneventfully  for  the  colonists,  but  with 
the  coming  of  September  were  renewed  alarms,  and 
because  no  assurances  of  assistance  had  been  received 
from  England  a  vast  discontent  was  openly  voiced 
among  the  people  of  the  Province.  Meanwhile, 
along  the  coasts  the  pirates  held  not  their  hand — 
under  the  black  flag  the  seas  were  pillaged  from 
South  to  North. 

When  Captain  Rogers  took  possession  of  New 
Providence  in  the  King's  name,  July,  1718,  he  broke 
up  a  veritable  den  of  pirates  who  had  consorted  there 
in  undisturbed  security.  There  they  brought  in  their 
rich  prizes,  there  they  careened  their  vessels,  and 
from  thence  they  sallied  forth  upon  their  free- 
booting  expeditions.  Upon  the  coming  of  Captain 
Rogers  the  majority  of  the  pirates  availed  them- 
selves of  the  King's  pardon  proclaimed  for  a  twelve- 
month, and  supposedly  devoted  themselves  to  lawful 
avocations. 

The  notorious  Charles  Vane,  however,  found  him- 
self of  small  mind  to  become  an  honest  man.  When 


Faithful  Unto  Death  147 

he  discovered  himself  to  be  actually  penned  within 
the  bay  he  had  the  effrontery  to  write  to  Captain 
Rogers  and  propose  to  surrender,  provided  he  should 
first  receive  permission  to  dispose  of  his  booty. 
Receiving  no  promise,  he  decided  to  escape.  Two 
of  Rogers's  ships  awaited  him,  however,  with  which 
he  exchanged  shots,  but  managed  to  escape  after  a 
warm  brush,  getting  away  with  ninety  men  in  a 
sloop  belonging  to  one  of  his  officers,  one  Captain 
Yeates,  making  thereupon  straightway  for  the  Caro- 
lina coast,  which  was  for  some  time  to  be  the  scene 
of  great  piratical  activity. 

In  purging  the  West  Indies  of  these  pestilent  free- 
booters it  but  narrowed  the  scene  of  their  operations 
to  the  coast  of  the  mainland.  From  Delaware  to 
South  Carolina  now  became  their  running,  from  the 
highways  and  by-ways  of  the  seas  they  steered  for 
the  Pamlico  and  Cape  Fear  rivers,  which  became 
henceforward  their  headquarters.  It  is  stated  by 
some,  upon  indifferent  authority,  however,  that 
Governor  Eden,  of  North  Carolina,  was  himself  in 
collusion  with  Black  Beard  and  his  robbers.  Certain 
damaging  papers  did  come  to  light  upon  the  death  of 
that  rogue,  which  were  never  quite  explained  to  the 
public  satisfaction. 

The  Province  of  South  Carolina  was  not  herself 
entirely  beyond  suspicion  at  an  earlier  date.  Certain 
goods  and  monies  were  current  in  the  land,  of  which 
the  customs  fbok  no  note,  and  their  origin  is  not 
difficult  of  explication,  considering  her  situation. 
Upon  the  seas,  due  to  strife  among  nations,  were 
certain  legalized  robbers  known  as  privateers,  and 
between  privateering  and  piracy  exists  but  a  national 


148  The  Carolinians 

difference,  as  it  were.  Pirates  rob  for  themselves, 
privateers  in  the  name  of  their  country.  During  the 
end  of  the  Seventeenth  and  beginning  of  the  Eigh- 
teenth Century  all  of  the  European  nations  seemed 
to  be  at  war  with  each  other,  and  the  consequent 
deterioration  of  individual  character  was  the  unfor- 
tunate result.  Naturally  the  American  colonies, 
being  less  protected,  were  the  victims  of  this  uni- 
versal robbery.  Charles  Town,  to  indemnify  herself 
somewhat  for  her  losses,  showed  too  great  indul- 
gence to  these  marauders.  The  wealth  brought  in 
by  the  pirates  did  much  to  obtain  friends  for  them 
and  screen  them  from  justice ;  'twas  further  asserted 
that,  bribed  by  them,  the  justices  gave  false  judg- 
ments. In  their  endeavor  to  crush  the  pirates  the 
Proprietors  gave  word  to  Governor  Ludlow  that 
they  should  be  tried  by  the  English  laws  of  piracy. 
With  a  corrupt  jury  and  corrupt  lawyers  it  came  to 
pass  that  several  pirates  escaped  justice,  bought  lands 
and  settled  in  South  Carolina.  Spain,  who  carried 
on  considerable  commerce  with  her  colonies  in  New 
Spain,  complained  that  South  Carolina  harbored 
injurious  pirates  who  crippled  her  commerce.  In 
revenge  she  incited  the  Indians  against  the  Caro- 
linians and  demoralized  their  negroes.  Finally  an 
indemnity  was  given  by  the  Proprietors  to  all  pirates 
who  had  not  depredated  upon  Spain,  and  so  the 
difficulty  was  adjusted  between  the  two  colonies. 

Now  since  the  Proclamation,  into  the  Cape  Fear 
River  swarmed  the  ruthless  robbers,  many  of  whom 
had  taken  oath  and  accepted  the  King's  pardon. 
Among  these  latter  Stede  Bonnet,  a  remarkable  and 
redoubtable  pirate,  once  a  Barbadian  gentleman  of 


Faithful  Unto  Death  149 

education  and  wealth,  who,  in  company  with  Black 
Beard,  had  visited  Charles  Town  in  June,  since 
which  time  his  career  had  been  somewhat  checkered 
even  for  a  gentleman  of  fortune.  After  leaving 
Charles  Town  the  contention  that  had  existed 
betwen  Black  Beard  and  Bonnet  culminated  in  open 
rupture  in  Topsail  Inlet.  Bonnet,  resuming  the 
command  of  the  Revenge,  sailed  away  to  Bath  Town 
in  North  Carolina,  surrendered  to  the  King's  pardon 
and  received  a  certificate.  The  war  having  broken 
out  between  the  Triple  Allies  and  Spain,  Major 
Bonnet  gets  clearance  for  his  ship,  and  with  the  open 
design  of  sailing  to  St.  Thomas,  there  to  procure  a 
commission  to  privateer  upon  the  Spaniard,  departs 
from  North  Carolina.  Straight  to  Topsail  Inlet 
sails  he.  Black  Beard  has  gone,  but  there  he  finds 
seventeen  men  abandoned  by  him  to  the  intent  that 
they  shall  perish.  To  these  Bonnet  tells  of  his 
mission  to  St.  Thomas,  and  invites  them  to  join  him. 
Hearing  from  a  bom-boat  bringing  provisions  that 
Captain  Thatch  (Black  Beard)  lay  at  Okericock 
Inlet,  Bonnet,  who  bears  him  a  mortal  hatred  born 
of  past  wrongs  and  insults,  pursues  him  straitly. 
To  their  chagrin  the  enemy  has  gone,  but  they  spend 
four  or  five  days  in  search-cruising,  then  steer  for 
the  Virginia  coast. 

During  the  month  of  July  they  were  not  slow  in 
availing  themselves  of  many  prizes  from  South 
Carolina  upwards  to  Delaware,  for  now,  under  the 
name  of  Thomas,  Bonnet  returned  to  his  old  trade 
with  renewed  activity,  and  during  the  month  of  July 
took  in  all  twelve  junks,  schooners  and  snows,  most 
of  which  vessels  he  turned  loose  after  taking  from 


150  The  Carolinians 

them  money  and  all  desirable  provisions.  The  last 
day  of  July  he  left  Delaware  Bay  with  the  two 
vessels  last  taken  and  sailed  for  the  Cape  Fear  River. 

While  tarrying  here  some  time  they  discovered 
that  their  ship,  now  called  the  Royal  James,  was  in 
unsound  condition,  requiring  more  than  a  month  for 
refitting. 

To  Charles  Town  came  the  alarming  information 
that  a  pirate  ship  was  careened  in  Cape  Fear  River, 
whereupon  prevailed  the  greatest  excitement,  the 
people  being  convinced  that  the  time  for  action  had 
finally  arrived.  Burning  with  revenge  because  of 
old  insults  and  injuries,  apprehensive  of  future 
depredations,  and  anxious  to  protect  their  commerce 
that  would  soon  recommence,  the  whole  will  and 
energy  of  the  town  turned  to  this  pressing  exigency. 

From  England  had  come  no  help.  Still  impover- 
ished by  two  recent  Indian  wars  there  was  a  scant 
treasury,  but  the  Governor,  Council  and  people 
determined  to  stretch  every  resource  to  their  service 
rather  than  calmly  await  another  visitation. 

Col.  William  Rhett,  a  bold  and  able  seaman  and 
soldier,  waited  upon  the  Governor  and  offered  to  go 
against  the  pirate.  Rumor,  he  said,  declared  that 
the  pirate  had  ten  guns  and  sixty  desperate,  trained 
men,  but  if  the  Governor  would  fit  him  out  two 
sloops  he  would  engage  to  meet  them. 

The  commission  was  joyfully  given  to  Colonel 
Rhett.  Two  sloops  he  chose — the  Henry,  Capt. 
John  Masters,  and  the  Sea  Nymph,  Capt.  Fayrer 
Hall.  The  Henry  he  selected  as  his  flagship.  She 
was  fitted  with  eight  guns  and  seventy  men;  the 


Faithful  Unto  Death  151 

Sea  Nymph  being  likewise  fitted  with  eight  guns  and 
sixty  men. 

With  the  Governor's  permission  Captain  Maynard 
waited  upon  Colonel  Rhett  and  asked  to  accompany 
him.  Colonel  Rhett  accepted  gladly  the  services  of 
one  who  was  not  only  a  sterling  soldier,  but  who 
was  the  more  eager  because  of  personal  grievance  to 
redress. 

September  the  loth,  the  day  chosen  for  the  depart- 
ure, dawned  bright  with  a  freshening  westerly  wind 
that  made  the  full  running  sea  look  like  the  jagged 
edges  of  chipped  green-glass  bottles. 

Upon  the  deck  of  the  Henry  stood  Colonel  Rhett, 
upon  the  Sea  Nymph  Captain  Maynard.  Along  the 
sea-front  crowded  an  enthusiastic  people,  who 
cheered  and  shouted  and  waved. 

Well  to  the  front,  by  the  Governor's  side,  stood 
Damaris,  white-faced  and  wide-eyed,  though  she 
answered  Mr.  Yonge's  sallies  with  a  smile.  Lady 
Kildare  and  Mr.  Yonge  had  most  of  the  conversa- 
tion to  themselves.  In  grave  and  absolute  silence, 
but  with  kindling  eye,  stood  the  Governor.  So 
absorbed  was  he  in  the  importance  of  the  occasion 
that  he  did  not  feel  how  cold  Damaris's  little  hand 
was  as  it  lay  in  his  arm. 

The  Governor  raised  his  hand  and  gave  the  signal, 
a  cornet  hard  by  blew  the  bugle  call,  from  Granville's 
Bastion  sounded  the  gun  of  departure,  then  cordage 
creaked,  canvas  bellied,  chains  rattled,  anchors  were 
lifted,  a  loud  huzzah  went  up  from  the  crowd,  some- 
where a  woman  was  sobbing,  the  stir  of  the  excited 
crowd  filled  the  air. 


152  The  Carolinians 

Suddenly,  as  the  boats  swung  their  noses  seaward, 
a  little  West  Indian  trader  ran  hard  a-port  of  the 
Henry  and  hailed  her.  She  was  from  Antigua,  her 
captain  one  Cook  of  that  port.  She  reported  that 
she  had  been  captured  and  robbed  by  one  of  the  most 
notorious  pirates,  the  redoubtable  Charles  Vane, 
lately  escaped  from  Captain  Rogers  at  new  Provi- 
dence, and  now  lay  off  Charles  Town  bar  in  a  stout 
brigantine  of  twelve  guns  and  ninety  men. 

Outside  of  Charles  Town  Vane  had  captured  two 
in-bound  vessels — one  a  Barbadian  sloop,  the  other 
a  Guinea-man  with  over  ninety  negroes.  The 
negroes  were  removed  from  the  brigantine  and 
placed  on  board  of  a  sloop  mastered  by  Yeates,  a 
consort  of  Vane's.  Yeates,  finding  himself  so  well 
fitted  out,  deserted.  Vane,  discovering  the  treachery, 
pursued,  but  finding  no  trace  of  him  returned  to 
Charles  Town,  where  he  had  proceeded  to  overhaul 
four  vessels  bound  for  London,  two  of  which  had 
escaped  and  continued  their  voyage. 

Keener  than  ever  for  the  pursuit,  yet  made  uncer- 
tain of  his  course  by  the  information  received,  Rhett 
gave  the  signal  for  the  return  and  came-about,  to  the 
great  consternation  of  the  anxious  onlookers  on  the 
shore. 

Colonel  Rhett  held  a  conference  with  the  Governor 
and  it  was  decided  to  delay  the  departure  for  several 
days,  awaiting  further  information,  it  being  deemed 
unwise  to  attack  the  pirate  in  the  open. 

Again,  upon  September  I5th,  amid  cheers  and 
huzzahs,  Colonel  Rhett  set  sail.  Having  been  in- 
formed by  Cook  that  Vane  had  planned  to  run  into 
an  inlet  to  the  southward  to  repair,  he  scoured  the 


Faithful  Unto  Death  153 

neighboring  creeks  and  rivers,  but  without  success. 
Finally  he  decided  that  the  pirate  had  sailed  away, 
and  without  returning  to  the  port  to  consult  with 
Governor  Johnson,  he  headed  for  the  Cape  Fear 
River. 

While  Rhett  sought  his  foe  among  islands  and 
headlands,  the  town  was  again  thrown  into  the 
wildest  alarm  by  tidings  that  pirates  had  landed  to 
the  southward.  Later  it  proved  that  Vane,  weary 
of  his  precarious  life,  had  put  into  the  North  Edisto 
River,  and  from  thence  sent  word  that  if  allowed  to 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  he  would  deliver  up  the 
negroes.  With  assurance  of  consent  he  complied 
with  the  terms. 

It  was  about  the  2Oth  of  September  when  Rhett 
finally  sailed  for  the  Cape  Fear.  With  smooth  seas 
and  favorable  winds  he  made  a  quick  run,  sighting 
upon  the  evening  of  the  2Oth  the  great  Cape  head- 
land, but  now  was  he  overtaken  with  a  great  mis- 
fortune. The  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  is  thick-set 
with  sand-bars,  making  it  dangerous  of  navigation, 
and  so  it  proved  to  the  expedition,  for  being  in  the 
hands  of  a  worthless  pilot  both  sloops  were  run 
aground  just  as  they  sighted  the  topmasts  of  the 
pirate  and  his  prizes  lying  at  anchor. 

With  this  disastrous  happening,  swore  and  raged 
the  men  with  Berserk  wrath.  Even  at  this  distance 
they  could  hardly  be  restrained  from  firing  at  the 
pirate's  black  hulks,  and  would  have  jumped  over- 
board and  with  knives  in  their  teeth  have  boarded 
their  enemy  right  willingly. 

Never  before  was  tide  so  slow  in  the  rising.  With 
straining  eyes  the  anxious  men  watched  the  slow- 


154  The  Carolinians 

rising  water  line  about  their  keel,  and  with  every 
throb  of  the  boat  as  she  loosened  from  her  ground- 
ing a  shout  of  joy  went  up. 

Meantime  they  had  been  speedily  spied  by  the 
ever-alert  pirates,  who,  thinking  them  vessels  of 
traffic,  manned  straightway  three  canoes  and  sent  to 
take  them.  However,  when  they  discovered  the 
formidable  guns  of  the  grounded  vessels,  they 
changed  their  design  and  returned  with  the  unwel- 
come tidings  to  their  ship. 

Greatly  incensed  was  the  audacious  free-booter 
that  Carolina  should  dare  send  an  expedition  against 
him,  so  long  had  he  arrogated  to  himself  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  seas ;  and  being  a  gentleman  of  polite 
education,  he  set  to  work  to  write  an  insulting  letter 
which  he  purposed  sending  to  Governor  Johnson 
should  he  escape,  and  which  he  showed  to  Captain 
Mainwaring,  one  of  his  prisoners.  The  final  clause 
of  the  said  letter  was  to  the  effect  that  if  the  sloops 
which  then  appeared  were  sent  out  against  him  by 
the  said  Governor,  and  he  should  get  off  clear,  that 
he  would  burn  and  destroy  all  ships  and  vessels  going 
in  and  coming  out  of  South  Carolina. 

Major  Bonnet,  now  Captain  Thomas,  having 
vented  his  spleen  in  manner  polite,  forthwith  turned 
himself  to  the  bettering  of  his  condition.  First  he 
took  all  the  men  out  of  the  prizes,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  night  was  spent  in  active  preparation,  for 
with  the  dawn  he  anticipated  an  attack. 

Upon  the  Henry  and  the  Sea  Nymph,  where  active 
preparations  were  ended,  the  men  lay  all  night  upon 
their  arms. 


Faithful  Unto  Death  155 

Captain  Maynard  did  not  sleep.  Through  the 
night  watches  he  passed  from  point  to  point  of  his 
vessel,  satisfying  himself  that  all  was  in  readiness. 
Softly  he  passed  through  the  sleeping  men  who  lay 
about  the  decks  wrapped  in  their  blankets,  some  of 
them  sleeping  their  last  sleep,  he  thought,  as  he 
stepped  aside  to  examine  a  gun. 

The  darkness  shivered  as  the  daylight  lay  chill 
hands  upon  it  and  drew  it  back  into  nothingness. 
Captain  Maynard,  sitting  upon  the  poop  of  his  vessel, 
drew  a  deep  breath  and  passed  his  hand  through  his 
hair,  heavy  with  the  callow  dew-damp.  He  had 
thought  much  during  the  long  night  watches,  and 
since  he  had  last  lain  at  close  quarters  with  the 
pirates  much  experience  had  come  to  him ;  he  found 
it  hard  to  realize  that  he  was  the  same  man  who  had 
raged  against  Damaris  and  sworn  vengeance  against 
the  pirates  as  he  lay  in  hateful  durance.  Now  the 
anger  against  Damaris  had  passed  as  the  night 
watches — in  its  place  the  chill  dawn  of  a  new  hurt. 
He  wondered  how  he  could  ever  have  forgiven  her 
and  still  be  a  man.  Man  speaks  of  himself  as  one 
person  when  he  is  in  truth  more  persons  than  the 
sum  of  all  of  his  ancestors.  He  is  "one  person  until 
experience  changes  him  into  another,  and  so  repeats 
the  process,  and  so  he  goes  on  losing  illusions  and 
gaining  self-knowledge,  always  sadder,  sometimes 
wiser. 

Captain  Maynard  watched  the  white  morning  star 
and  thought  of  Damaris.  With  clear-shining  beauty 
it  sank  behind  the  wraith  of  sea  mist;  even  so  had 
she  passed  beyond  the  horizon  of  his  hopes.  He 
shook  himself  hard,  settled  his  cap  on  his  head  and 


156  The  Carolinians 

passed  from  man  to  man,  waking  them  with  a  touch 
of  his  foot. 

A  token  of  the  day,  blood  red  the  sun  lifted  above 
the  sea  on  September  27,  and  the  watching  eyes  upon 
the  Carolinians  saw  the  great  sails  of  the  Royal 
James  bellying  in  the  breeze,  heard  across  the  still 
waters,  over  which  passed  long  lines  of  screaming 
water  fowl,  the  creaking  and  groaning  of  hawser 
and  cordage  as  the  pirate  weighed  anchor.  Briskly 
the  trim  nose  of  the  Royal  James  came  about,  out 
she  swung  into  the  current,  with  the  flapping  of 
slackened  canvas,  then  catching  the  spanking  breeze 
blowing  stiff  from  the  land,  came  flying  toward  the 
river  mouth,  hoping  to  show  her  stronger  foe  a  clean 
pair  of  heels. 

Colonel  Rhett,  quickly  appreciating  the  pirate's 
purpose,  commanded  that  the  Henry  and  Sea  Nymph 
should  fall  into  position  to  board  her  larboard  and 
starboard.  Seeing  which,  the  pirate,  trusting  to  her 
knowledge  of  the  currents,  edged  close  into  shore, 
and  in  the  confusion  of  the  tremendous  broadsides 
that  belched  upon  her  from  both  sides,  lost  her  head- 
ing, grounding  hard  and  fast  in  the  shoal  water. 

Too  close  upon  her  quarter  for  prudence  came 
Rhett,  and  straightway  grounded  upon  his  bow 
within  pistol  shot,  the  Henry  in  the  heat  of  the 
encounter  having  grounded  ahead  of  the  pirate, 
almost  out  of  range. 

Colonel  Rhett  stood  at  his  post  and  watched  the 
great  hull  of  the  Royal  James  right  itself  with  a 
shivering  lurch,  then  settle  slowly  over,  till  her  deck 
was  turned  from  her  pursuers,  her  men  under  shelter. 
With  the  same  current  lifted  the  Henry  the  same 


Faithful  Unto  Death  157 

way,  exposing  her  deck  to  the  fire  of  the  pirate. 
For  five  long  hours,  while  the  tide  turned,  lay  she 
there  keeping  up  an  incessant  fire,  though  the 
pirate's  broadsides  swept  her  decks  which  ran  with 
the  blood  of  the  wounded  and  dying. 

Blackened  with  powder  and  smarting  with  smoke 
stood  Rhett,  and  above  the  noise  of  carnage  rose^his 
strong,  calm  voice,  commanding  and  encouraging 
the  men,  who  stood  to  their  work  with  grim 
determination,  while  through  the  rigging  hissed  and 
whistled  the  shot,  about  them  fell  shattered  cordage, 
around  them  flew  great  splinters  torn  from  bulwarks 
and  deck  by  the  close  and  murderous  fire — but  never 
a  heart  failed  during  those  deadly  hours. 

The  pirates,  gloating  over  their  advantage,  hauled 
down  their  sinister  flag  with  grinning  skull  and 
cross-bones,  making  therein  a  wiff,  and  raising  it 
shouted  in  derision  to  their  foes : 

"Come  over,  come  over!  Don't  keep  our  knives 
waiting  longer  for  your  blood !  Come  over,  we  are 
ready!  Come  on;  don't  be  afraid!  We  would 
wash  our  decks  with  your  white  blood !" 

"We  will  speak  with  you  by  and  by!  We  will 
color  the  sea  with  your  black  blood!"  shouted. back 
a  Carolinian,  and  straightway  fell  to  work  more 
zealously. 

A  sudden  shiver  ran  through  the  Henry;  with  a 
swinging  lurch  she  righted  herself.  A  shout  of  joy 
sprung  from  hoarse  throats,  quick  hands  fell  to 
mending  the  rigging,  while  the  crestfallen  pirates, 
who  still  stuck  hard  aground,  looked  to  themselves 
with  alarm. 


158  The  Carolinians 

Around  swung  the  Henry,  and  with  savage  yells 
hard  she  stood  for  the  pirate's  quarter,  purposing 
straightway  to  board  her.  Grimly  stood  the  men  to 
their  arms,  ready  to  board  her  as  they  grappled; 
hard  by  the  Sea  Nymph,  also  freed,  took  up  her 
position  with  equal  purpose,  and  the  pirate's  plight 
was  indeed  desperate. 

Upon  the  deck  of  the  Royal  James  stood  Stede 
Bonnet,  a  smoking  pistol  in  each  hand.  Brave  as 
a  lion  stood  he,  confronting  his  mutinous  men, 
inciting  them  to  resistance  to  the  death.  The  men 
fell  away  from  him  with  surly  countenances,  mutter- 
ing rebelliously  among  themselves. 

"By  God !"  roared  Bonnet  as  he  saw  himself 
forsaken,  "I  will  blow  out  the  brains  and  spit  the 
heart  of  the  first  infernal  coward  who  dares  speak  of 
surrender!"  The  scowling  crew  confronted  him 
with  threatening  faces  and  no  sign  of  support. 

"Miserable  hell-hounds  that  you  are !  Curse  you 
for  a  pack  of  cowards !  If  you  dare  give  up  the 
ship  without  a  fight  I  will  light  the  powder  house 
and  send  you  quick  to  hell !" 

They  closed  about  him  with  bare  arms  and  threat- 
ening gestures,  determined  to  thwart  him  and  save 
themselves  by  surrender,  for  the  death  that  seems 
far  off  looks  the  easier.  Then  fell  Bonnet  to  per- 
suading and  bribing,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The 
grimy,  almost  naked  rogues,  who  held  with  him  in 
prosperity,  forsook  him  at  need.  Baffled  and  furious, 
he  had  to  succumb  to  their  power,  and  a  flag  of  truce 
was  sent  to  the  Henry. 

After  somewhat  tedious  parley  the  Royal  James 
surrendered  unconditionally,  and  to  the  great  joy  of 


Faithful  Unto  Death  159 

Colonel  Rhett  he  found  that  the  so-called  Captain 
Thomas  was  their  ancient  foe  Stede  Bonnet,  against 
whom  the  Colony  had  a  long  and  weighty  reckoning, 
as  had  also  the  whole  Atlantic  coast,  the  Bahamas 
and  New  Spain,  together  with  the  commerce  of 
England,  Spain  and  France. 

The  Royal  James  was  manned  by  Rhett's  men, 
the  prisoners  put  into  irons,  the  two  prizes — the 
Fortune  and  the  Francis  taken  into  possession. 

Scornfully  stood  the  great  Bonnet  while  the  irons 
were  fastened  upon  his  crew.  "Dastardly  villains ! 
You  have  bought  them  for  yourselves  with  your 
cowardice.  And  you  had  fought  like  men  you 
would  not  be  shackled  like  slaves !" 

Black-browed  and  mutinous  still,  they  glowered 
at  him  as  they  passed  in  clanking  irons  to  the  hold, 
the  bare  feet  of  some  leaving  bloody  prints  upon  the 
deck,  their  hairy  bodies  blackened  and  stained  with 
blood  and  powder,  their  long  hair  singed  and  matted. 

When  the  last  treacherous  rogue  had  passed  he 
turned  his  eagle  eyes  upon  his  captors,  and  held  out 
his  wrists  contemptuously  to  them. 

"Not  so,"  spoke  Colonel  Rhett  quickly.  "You 
have  fought  like  a  brave  man  and  a  gentleman ;  we 
will  spare  you  that  indignity." 

"I  stand  or  fall  with  my  comrades,"  he  answered 
proudly,  still  extending  his  hands. 

"You  are  of  better  mettle,  though  an  outlaw. 
This  indulgence  we  give  you.  Pass  within  to  your 
cabin." 

"I  thank  you  for  your  courtesy,"  replied  Major 
Bonnet,  and  passed  within  with  the  air  of  an  unfor- 
tunate gentleman. 


160  The  Carolinians 

The  Henry,  which  had  grounded  nearest  the 
pirate,  lost  ten  killed  and  fourteen  wounded,  several 
of  whom  afterwards  died.  Upon  the  Sea  Nymph 
were  but  two  killed  and  fourteen  wounded.  Of  the 
pirates  there  were  but  seven  killed  and  two  wounded, 
inasmuch  as  the  careening  of  their  vessel  had  shel- 
tered them  from  fire,  the  Henry's  shots  but  taking 
effect  in  her  hulk. 

From  the  Carolinians  a  full  crew,  well  armed,  put 
ashore  in  a  long-boat  to  bury  their  dead  comrades. 
All  other  available  hands  were  put  to  work  to  repair 
the  Henry's  damages,  which  were  not  inconsiderable. 

Captain  Maynard  being  transferred  to  the  Royal 
James,  busied  himself  straightway  with  getting  her 
into  shape.  Behind  a  gun,  by  a  pile  of  cordage,  a 
wounded  pirate  lay  unobserved.  Several  times 
Captain  Maynard  was  addressed  by  name  as  he 
stood  close  by  directing  the  repairs.  The  wounded 
man  raised  himself  slowly  upon  his  elbow. 

"Say,  Captain  Maynard,  ship  ahoy!"  he  cried 
hoarsely. 

Captain  Maynard  came  to  him  and  leaned  over 
him.  It  was  clear  that  death  already  looked  out  of 
the  glazing  eyes. 

"Is  your  name  Captain  Maynard,  and  come  you 
from  Charles  Town  ?  Were  you  but  shortly  in  The 
Indian  Emperor  when  she  was  overhauled?"  he 
asked,  breathing  heavily. 

"Yes,"  answered  Maynard,  astonished. 

"Then  have  I  a  love-token  for  you." 

Captain  Maynard,  thinking  that  his  mind  did 
but  wander  in  the  death-grasp,  looked  at  him  com- 


Faithful  Unto  Death  161 

passionately.  Painfully  the  pirate  drew  from  the 
inner  pocket  of  his  doublet  a  leathern  case. 

"Open,"  he  spoke  feebly. 

Thinking  it  some  dying  token  that  he  wished  sent 
to  some  friend,  Maynard  complied.  Within  lay  a 
spray  of  withered  leaves  that  crumbled  at  his  touch ; 
also,  detached,  a  crimson  flower,  empurpled  and 
bruised. 

"Tell  her  I  kept  faith,"  he  gasped.  "I  couldn't 
meet  my  yellow-haired  lass  in  hell  if  I  had  lied  to 
your  lady." 

"What  does  it  all  mean?  Tell  me  quick!"  urged 
Maynard  hoarsely,  lifting  up  the  limp  form  in  his 
arms  to  stay  the  rattling  breath. 

"Something — something — I  can't  quite  get  it  up 
my  hatches,"  he  said,  feeling  painfully  around  the 
darkening  chambers  of  his  memory.  "I  promised 
her  I  would  give  it  to  you  when  I  went  back  to  the 
ship.  Too  much  rum — at  the  Three  Swans — another 
wench — dumped  into  the  hold  like  a  dog — sleep — 
sleep — when  I  came  out  Emperor  gone — our  ship 
here — something — something — promise — promise — 
summer  has  come — no  winter — I  am  cold — down 
with  the  hatches!"  and  the  light  faded  in  the  dark 
places  of  the  pirate's  soul. 

Still  kneeling  by  the  dead  man's  side,  Captain 
Maynard  looked  upon  the  shattered  blossom  in  his 
hand.  Five  months  of  sorrow  were  burned  out  in 
one  flash  of  joy,  out  of  the  darkness  came  blinding 
light.  A  vast  compassion  for  the  shame  the  girl 
must  have  suffered  swept  over  his  soul  and  left  him 
trembling.  About  him  the  swish  of  the  water  where 
the  men  mopped  up  the  blood-stains  from  the  deck ; 


162  The  Carolinians 

aloft  in  the  rigging  a  sailor  spliced  a  shivered  yard- 
arm,  hammering  vigorously;  the  twilight  brushed 
away  the  purple  bloom  from  the  sea  and  a  fog  from 
the  place  of  shadows  stole  its  chill  arms  about  them. 
Tenderly  Captain  Maynard  closed  the  leathern  case 
that  had  lain  against  the  pirate's  heart  for  so  many 
months.  Gently  he  folded  the  rigid  hands  and  com- 
posed the  stiffening  limbs.  Upon  the  still  face  death 
had  lain  its  inscrutable  smile,  had  smoothed  out  the 
passions  and  left  it  calm. 

Two  men  approached. 

"Curse  him,  he's  swallowed  his  last  booty!"  said 
one.  "Hell  is  glad  to-night!"  the  other  laughed 
loudly.  "Lend  a  hand,  mate;  we'll  toss  him  to  the 
sharks." 

"Not  so  fast,  comrades,"  said  Captain  Maynard 
quietly.  "Wrap  him  in  a  tarpaulin;  we  will  bury 
him  ashore." 

The  two  sailors  gazed  at  him  in  unconcealed 
wonder. 

"Friend,  Captain?"  asked  one  with  a  knowing 
wink,  for  in  those  days  there  were  curious  bonds  of 
friendship. 

"Yes,  a  friend,"  replied  Captain  Maynard  gravely. 
"He  was  true  to  his  word ;  he  is  better  than  his  craft ; 
we  will  give  him  a  decent  burial.  That  much  I  can 
pay  him,  at  least.  May  God  have  mercy  upon  his 
soul!" 


CHAPTER  XV 

TROUBLES 

"One  woe  doth  tread  upon  another's  heel, 
So  fast  they  follow."^ 

— Hamlet. 

The  heavy  September  air,  rich  with  the  hot  breath 
of  ripening  things,  came  into  the  open  windows  of 
the  dining-room. 

Over  the  sultry  sea  shimmered  its  languors  of 
mist.  Out  of  the  garden  arose  the  multiple  stir  and 
hum  of  creative  life  that  sung  to  its  finish. 

Before  one  low  window,  looking  seaward,  stood 
Damaris,  her  hands  all  ablaze  with  scarlet  geraniums 
with  which  she  was  filling  a  tall  loving-cup.  About 
the  casement  clung  the  heavy  coils  of  a  crimson 
trumpet  vine,  in  and  out  of  its  leafage  darting 
chameleons  vivid  as  gems. 

Cool  and  fragile  looked  the  girl  in  her  soft  white 
gown ;  very  delicate  her  face,  with  traces  of  languor- 
ous violet  about  the  clear  grey  eyes. 

"You  poor,  faithful,  fiery  things,"  she  said,  as  she 
thrust  in  a  long-stemmed  truss  of  blossoms.  "Of 
all  the  goodly  company  of  flowers  you  bloom  the 
most  faithfully  these  sultry  days.  Dear  me,  it  is  a 
weary  world;  I  feel  as  if  I  had  finished  blooming 
myself !" 


164  The  Carolinians 

She  leaned  her  head  against  the  window  and 
looked  over  the  sea  with  wistful  eyes.  At  the  sound 
of  a  footstep  without  in  the  hall  she  started  quickly 
from  her  reverie,  touched  the  bell  to  summon  break- 
fast and  turned  to  greet  her  father. 

"Good-morning,  father;  we  wear  the  King's  scar- 
let to-day,"  she  said,  lifting  the  cup  by  its  two  han- 
dles and  holding  it  flush  with  her  white  throat. 

"Monstrous  gay,"  answered  the  Governor,  some- 
what abstractedly,  moving  over  to  the  window. 

"You  forgot  to  kiss  me.  Art  afraid  of  the  King's 
scarlet?"  she  asked  archly. 

"Do  you  reckon  upon  nothing  but  kisses  and 
cajoleries,  Damaris?"  asked  the  Governor  gravely. 

"From  you,  certainly  not,  my  Sire ;  all  else  would 
be  vastly  unfatherly,"  she  replied,  puzzling  some- 
what over  his  words,  and  dropping  her  blossoms  to 
the  level  of  her  heart. 

"Do  you  never  expect  to  be  in  earnest  in  your 
life  ?  Comes  life  but  to  you  as  a  jest  ?" 

"When  one  is  young  one  must  be  glad,  one  laughs 
in  the  sunshine ;  after  a  while  one  will  weep  in  the 
shadows."  Her  vase  hung  low  from  her  straining 
fingers  now,  her  eyes  looked  beyond  her  father  to 
the  vague,  stretching  sea. 

"To  laugh  while  others  weep  is  not  a  part  of 
youth,  nor  is  it  womanly,"  he  replied  severely. 

"One  laughs  while  one  may,"  she  spoke  a  little 
bitterly. 

"Grow  you  never  aweary  of  this  ceaseless  round 
of  coquetry?  Each  day  brings  some  new  tidings  of 
your  reckless  flirtations." 


Troubles  165 

"Seek  the  cat,"  Damaris  said  to  herself,  while 
she  cast  about  to  discover  with  which  one  of  her 
lady  friends  her  father  had  probably  been  convers- 
ing. Aloud  she  said:  "Is  flirtation  then  so  very 
reprehensible?  I  have  ever  looked  upon  it  as  my 
only  protection  against  matrimony.  Truly,  I  have 
regarded  it  as  a  kindly  provision  of  Nature  to  in- 
sure one's  affections — from  premature  capitulation !" 

"Flirtation  is  abominable !"  he  answered  hotly. 

"Faith,  would  you  have  me  marry,  sir?"  she 
asked  in  alarm. 

"I  would  have  you  conduct  yourself  as  a  woman 
of  character !" 

"What  do  you  mean,  father?"  she  asked  with 
sudden  gravity,  looking  steadily  into  his  eyes. 

"Even  this,  Damaris — you  have  misused  your 
liberty.  You  had  no  mother,  I  had  no  son;  too 
much  as  a  son  have  I  treated  you,  forgetting  that 
women  cannot  stand  too  much  freedom.  I  wanted 
you  to  be  happy,  I  trusted  you  implicitly,  and  now 
meseems  you  have  taken  the  bit  into  your  own  teeth 
and  grown  somewhat  heady.  Your  delight  seems 
but  in  coquetry.  The  town  rings  with  the  stories  of 
your  flirtations,  like  a  battledore  rumor  flings  your 
heart  from  one  man's  keeping  to  that  of  another. 
Think  you  this  is  the  conduct  of  a  dignified 
woman  ?" 

"And  so  my  father  lends  ear  to  the  idle  rumor  of 
the  town?"  she  asked  proudly. 

"Nay,  not  so.  To  the  idle  tongue  of  gossip  I  give 
no  heed ;  the  carpings  of  tabbies  pecking  at  reputa- 
tions over  their  teacups  are  an  abomination  unto 


166  The  Carolinians 

me;  but  what  I  have  seen,  Damaris,  that  I  know. 
Some  few  weeks  since  you  gave  every  indication 
that  Captain  Maynard  engaged  your  affections,  and 
in  my  heart  I  was  glad,  seeing  that  I  would  rather 
give  you  to  him  than  to  another,  since  give  you 
up  I  must,  sooner  or  later.  He  is  every  whit  white, 
not  a  shadow  of  uncleanness  within  or  without. 
None  knows  better  than  you  what  a  pretty  game 
of  pitch  and  toss  you  have  played  with  his  heart, 
and  now  you  do  divert  yourself  even  as  gaily  with 
Mr.  Yonge,  who  is  ever  a-dangling  at  your  apron 
strings." 

"The  heart  of  Mr.  Yonge  is  not  a  very  breakable 
toy,  'twill  never  cause  him  any  uneasiness." 

"A  most  paltry  and  a  most  womanish  excuse !" 

"The  truth  should  ever  be  a  woman's  excuse." 

"There  you  do  wrong  Mr.  Yonge.  Whatever  the 
fickleness  of  the  sometime  affairs  of  his  heart,  you 
have  won  his  affections,  beyond  dispute!" 

"I  protest,  sir,  you  frighten  me;  the  zeal  of  your 
cause  has  perchance  spoiled  your  judgment!"  she 
fenced  with  assumed  lightness. 

"Would  that  it  were  so ;  but  by  my  soul,  this  time 
Francis  Yonge  has  staked  his  all  for  better  or 
worse !" 

"Has  he  so  spoken  to  you  ?"  she  asked  with  grow- 
ing uneasiness. 

"He  who  runs  may  read !" 

"  'Tis  a  fool  who  wears  his  heart  on  his  sleeve 
for  daws  to  peck  at." 

"When  they  love,  all  men  are  such." 

"And  yet  expect  women  to  love  them  ?" 


Troubles  167 

"Egad,  any  man  who  expects  you  to  love  him 
for  more  than  a  week  is  certainly  a  fool !" 

"I  protest,  sir;  I  cannot  honestly  love  all  the  men 
who  are  foolish  enough  to  fancy  they  love  me.  Idle- 
ness breeds  lovers  as  stagnant  water  gnats." 

"Good  women  have  few  lovers." 

"Happy  women  have  but  one!"  she  answered 
sadly. 

She  had  put  down  her  heavy  vase  of  flowers  and 
her  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  bruises  made  by  the 
carven  handles  upon  her  ringers.  Something  in  her 
voice  made  the  Governor  scan  her  face  sharply. 
Its  look  of  delicate  whiteness  startled  him.  He 
stepped  over  and  slipped  his  arm  about  her  and  his 
voice  was  very  gentle  when  he  spoke. 

"Truly,  I  would  not  be  harsh  with  my  little  girl; 
mayhap  my  words  were  harder  than  I  intended, 
but  being  a  man  I  have  small  patience  with  these 
travesties  of  love.  Prithee,  give  me  a  kiss,  and  let 
us  forget!  Now  we  must  have  breakfast,  as  an 
early  appointment  awaits  me." 

"Nay,  the  kiss  that  is  forgotten  is  forfeit!"  she 
said,  trying  to  speak  lightly ;  however,  she  received 
the  peace-offering  with  indifferent  warmth  and  took 
her  place  behind  the  urn.  It  were  easier  for  her 
father  to  forget  than  for  her.  That  moment  when 
we  stand  for  the  first  time  face  to  face  with  the 
fact  that  we  are  not  perfect  in  the  eyes  of  one  whom 
we  love  is  a  bitter  one.  The  first  word  of  dispraise 
is  as  the  flaming  sword  that  bars  our  re-entry  into 
the  secure  paradise  of  our  self-esteem. 


168  The  Carolinians 

"Take  away  those  flowers,  John,"  she  said  to  the 
servant.  "They  are  so  vivid,"  she  explained  to  the 
Governor,  "they  hurt  my  eyes." 

The  rest  of  the  breakfast  was  passed  as  usual. 
With  a  cheery  word  the  Governor  went  off  to  his 
appointment.  Like  a  man  he  had  made  a  wound, 
and  like  a  man  he  poured  into  it  the  balm  which 
he  deemed  healing,  then  like  a  man  he  wished  it 
straightway  forgotten,  and  took  it  for  granted  that 
it  was. 

With  her  bunch  of  keys  jangling  at  her  belt,  her 
high  red  heels  clicking  the  polished  floor,  her  head 
a  trifle  higher  than  usual,  her  grey  eyes  deepening 
into  purple,  Damaris  went  the  rounds  of  her  house- 
keeping duties.  In  her  was  vested  the  authority  of 
the  establishment.  John,  the  old  butler,  said  that  it 
sat  loosely  upon  her,  but  at  least  she  had  the  rare 
talent  of  seeing  that  the  duties  of  others  did  not  sit 
loosely  upon  them,  and  this  is  in  truth  the  secret  of 
a  genuine  housewife.  She  superintended  the  de- 
canting of  some  cordial  made  from  the  wild  plums 
of  the  Province,  after  a  cunning  recipe  brought 
from  the  old  country,  and  of  which  her  father  was 
particularly  fond.  Then  the  high-piled  laundry  bas- 
kets being  brought  in,  she  folded  away  the  snowy 
linen  in  its  lavender-scented  shelves.  Into  his  own 
basket,  to  be  mended,  she  put  the  silken  hose  of  her 
father,  and  his  ruffles  of  French  and  Flemish  laces, 
for  in  the  matter  of  ruffles  Mr.  Yonge  himself  was 
not  finer  than  the  Governor. 

The  last  of  these  little  housewifely  duties,  so  ob- 
noxious to  Lady  Kildare,  being  ended,  Damaris 


Troubles  169 

was  on  the  point  of  taking  refuge  with  her  troubled 
thoughts  under  the  magnolias,  when  Mistress  Doro- 
thy Bowers  was  announced. 

"Dear  me,"  said  Damaris  to  herself,  "  'tis  a  warm 
day  for  stratagem.  I  wonder  what  brings  her,  what 
does  she  want  to  find  out,  or  what  she  has  to  tell 
me?  Nothing  pleasant,  I'll  warrant.  The  Ides  of 
March  have  fallen  in  September  this  year,  me- 
thinks."  She  took  up  her  basket  with  a  sigh  and 
went  in  to  greet  her  guest. 

In  the  cool  dusk  of  the  darkened  drawing-room 
Mistress  Dorothy  rose  to  greet  her  hostess.  Like  a 
splendid  rose  carnation  she  looked  in  a  gown  all 
frills  and  furbelows,  laces  and  streamers,  and  per- 
fumed like  a  flower  with  the  dainty  art  of  France. 

"How  very  delightful  to  find  you  at  home,  my 
sweet  Damaris.  I  came  early,  hoping  for  such  good 
fortune.  Now  we  shall  have  a  charming  long  morn- 
ing together.  See,  I  have  in  my  reticule  the  sweet- 
est bit  of  embroidery  newly  come  from  London !" 

"So  very  good  of  you  to  come ;  so  very  brave,  too, 
this  sultry  morning;  pray  be  seated,"  said  Damaris 
with  the  virtuous  hypocrisy  of  a  well-bred  woman, 
and  flung  open  a  window  that  they  might  have 
light  for  their  needlework.  After  duly  admiring  the 
new  fashion  in  embroidery,  she  drew  forth  from 
her  basket  one  of  the  long  grey  silken  hose. 

"  'Pon  my  life,  Damaris,  you  really  frighten  me — 
men's  hose  in  your  basket ;  how  can  you  be  so  ungen- 
teel?" 

Damaris  ran  her  hand  deep  into  the  stocking  un- 
til one  of  her  pink  fingers  protruded  from  the  toe. 


170  The  Carolinians 

"Methinks  'twere  vastly  more  ungenteel  to  allow 
my  father  to  wear  unmended  hose,"  she  answered, 
laughing. 

"But  surely  there  are  menials  enough  in  the  Gov- 
ernor's establishment  for  such  labors !" 

"Not  for  labors  of  love  such  as  this;  besides,  I 
always  feel  so  important  when  I  am  reinforcing 
the  Governor." 

"  Tis  a  monstrous  waste  of  time,"  said  Mistress 
Dorothy,  shaking  her  head  disapprovingly  and  con- 
tinuing to  set  placid  stitches  into  the  pink  leg  of  a 
vaulting  Cupid  designed  for  a  fire-screen. 

Then  the  conversation  darted  and  doubled,  woman 
fashion;  before  one  answer  was  fairly  sped,  came 
another  hot- foot  upon  it ;  meanwhile  the  legs  of  the 
pink  Cupid  fattened  beyond  human  semblance  and 
the  toes  of  the  Governor  were  safely  housed  in  silk. 

Then  a  servant  fetched  a  waiter  high  piled  with 
cakes  and  fruits  and  sweetmeats,  and  while  they 
sipped  their  tea  and  nibbled  their  dainties  the  con- 
versation flagged  not. 

"  'Twill  be  a  happy  day  when  the  Henry  and 
Sea  Nymph  come  home,"  said  Mistress  Dorothy  ten- 
tatively as  she  fingered  a  bunch  of  purple  grapes. 

"For  the  pirates?"  asked  Damaris  innocently. 

"For  some  who  wait  at  home  with  anxious 
hearts." 

"Truly,"  said  Damaris  sympathetically,  "I  had 
not  thought  on  it  thus;  mayhap  many  of  our  brave 
soldiers  have  left  families  behind  them." 

"To  me  the  time  has  been  vastly  trying !"  sighed 
Mistress  Dorothy  deeply. 


Troubles  171 

"I  am  greatly  concerned  to  learn  that  your  kin- 
dred are  among  them." 

"Not  kindred  exactly,"  said  Mistress  Dorothy 
coyly,  the  while  from  under  her  silken  lashes  she 
swept  one  searching  look  at  her  companion;  but 
frank,  innocent  eyes  met  her  gaze,  and  a  look  of  ab- 
solute insouciance.  "But  there  is  among  them  one 
who  should  be  nearer  to  me  than  kith  and  kin." 

"A  lover?"  inquired  the  other  blandly. 

"Such  the  world  calls  him;  but  when  he  bade 
me  farewell  and  urged  the  dangers  into  which  he 
would  run,  even  then  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart 
to  say  the  word  he  craved ;  but  when  he  comes  back, 
who  can  tell — ?  Absence  proves  a  woman's  heart, 
and  Captain  Maynard — " 

"So  'tis  Captain  Maynard  who  has  won  your 
favor.  Allow  me  to  offer  my  wishes  for  great  hap- 
piness with  that  excellent  gentleman,"  said  Damaris 
frankly. 

"Nay,  be  quiet,  I  pray  you ;  the  name  did  but  slip 
unheeded  from  my  lips.  'Tis  a  matter  in  which  my 
heart  still  wavers,  and  for  worlds  would  I  not  have 
it  given  over  to  the  gossips !"  she  said,  blushing  more 
rosy  than  her  carnation  gown,  and  with  a  pretty  as- 
sumption of  modesty  that  sat  vastly  well  upon  her. 

"Have  no  fears,  the  matter  will  not  be  mentioned 
by  me,"  answered  Damaris. 

"Do  you  promise  truly?" 

"Certainly;  why  should  I  mention  it?" 

"You  will  oblige  me  greatly.  Not  so  much  as  a 
hint  even  to  the  Captain  himself  that  I  have  con- 
fided in  you,  because — because  there's  many  a  slip 


172  The  Carolinians 

'twixt  the  cup  and  the  lip,  and  gossip  is  so  disagree- 
able." 

"Truly,  it  shall  be  as  you  wish.  Ah,  there  comes 
a  coach — Lady  Kildare,  upon  my  word.  I  am  truly 
favored  this  morning." 

"I  really  must  be  going,"  said  the  other,  hastily 
rising  and  setting  down  her  teacup  noisily.  "I  have 
already  wasted  your  time  most  shockingly,  but  we 
have  had  a  sweet  morning  together."  Miss  Dorothy 
gathered  her  work  and  crushed  it  into  her  bag. 

"Indeed,  why  should  you  say  so ;  you  have  enter- 
tained me  vastly.  Good-morning,  Lady  Kildare,  I 
am  charmed  to  see  you !" 

"No  doubt,  no  doubt;  but  you  are  ever  more 
charmed  to  see  me  go  away.  Whom  have  we  here  ? 
Ah,  Mistress  Dorothy  Bowers ;  methought  I  smelled 
mischief,  or  perhaps  it  was  musk — the  two  are  easily 
confounded.  What  brings  your  complexion  out  into 
this  glare?" 

"I  have  been  passing  the  morning  with  Damaris, 
and  I  am  too  distressed  that  I  must  be  leaving  just 
as  you  arrive,"  answered  Mistress  Dorothy,  trying 
to  appear  at  her  ease. 

"  'Pon  my  conscience,"  replied  the  old  lady,  scrutin- 
izing her  loftily,  "you  do  dissemble  your  reluctant 
distress  under  a  most  pleasing  alacrity!  I  bid  you 
good-morning." 

"Good-morning,  Lady  Kildare.  Your  Ladyship 
jests  so  prettily  it  is  a  rare  pleasure  to  meet  you, 
and  I  trust  soon  again  to  have  the  good  fortune. 
Good-by,  dear  Damaris ;  you  have  given  me  a  sweet 
pleasure.  Ah,  you  will  come  to  the  door  with  me, 


Troubles  173 

will  you  ?"  And  with  a  flutter  of  laces  and  streamers 
she  bowed  herself  out. 

"Satan  needs  a  sight  of  vipers  to  carry  on  the 
work  of  human  demoralization,"  soliloquized  her 
Ladyship  ill-humoredly.  "Now  if  Tomahawk,  as 
gossip  would  have  it,  had  fallen  in  love  with  an- 
other than  Mistress  Dorothy  I  would  not  feel  as  if 
I  had  interfered  with  Providence ;  as  it  is,  I  feel  as  if 
I  had  helped  him  to  fall  into  the  pit  digged  for  the 
wicked,  and  were  it  not  bourgeois  to  repent  of  one's 
sins  I  would  be  almost  sorry;  however,  he  deserves 
it  for  falling  in  love  again  so  speedily — it's  genteel 
for  men  to  make  a  decent  semblance  of  mourning 
when  jilted  by  a  woman.  It  isn't  fair  for  a  man  to 
rob  a  woman  of  the  aftermath  of  conquest.  Ah, 
Mistress  Damaris,  you  have  sped  Delilah;  now  sit 
you  down  straightway,  child,  and  tell  me  what  makes 
you  so  pale.  No,  I  won't  have  tea,  child ;  there's  to 
be  no  gossip,  so  'tis  not  needed." 

"It  is  truly  the  first  time  that  I  ever  knew  you 
to  refuse  tea." 

"Don't  comment  upon  your  elders,  Miss;  it  isn't 
genteel.  You  are  as  white  as  the  veriest  love-lorn 
damsel.  I'll  send  you  my  rouge-pot,  else  folks  will 
be  making  a  romance  of  you.  Gossip  loves  to  break 
a  woman's  heart ;  it's  like  to  say  that  you  are  griev- 
ing over  Tomahawk's  fickleness." 

"It  will  not  be  its  first  unfounded  lie!"  replied 
Damaris  hotly. 

"Nor  its  last;  society  fattens  upon  such.  What 
you  need  is  a  trip  to  England,  and  would  you  smile 
upon  Mr.  Yonge  it  could  be  so  prettily  arranged. 


174  The  Carolinians 

I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  child,  that  despite 
your  red  lips  you  have  great  coldness  of  constitu- 
tion, else  you  could  not  withstand  such  ardent  woo- 
ing." 

"Why  is  every  one  so  anxious  to  marry  me  off 
and  send  me  away?  I  am  a  very  insignificant  per- 
son and  interfere  with  no  one,"  the  girl  spoke 
wearily. 

"Heyday,  oh  my  conscience !  A  very  insignificant 
person,  indeed !  Don't  encourage  small  self-esteem, 
child ;  humility  has  no  place  in  the  social  economy,  it 
is  only  a  virtue  in  parables.  Ton  my  word,  though, 
you  had  best  dally  no  longer.  If  you  keep  on  losing 
your  complexion  and  your  figure  at  this  rate  your 
beauty  will  be  gone,  then  will  Francis  Yonge  snap 
his  fingers  and  seek  a  fairer." 

"Then  a  man  but  wants  a  woman  for  her  beauty  ?" 
asked  Damaris  scornfully. 

"Certainly;  for  what  else  do  you  suppose — not 
for  her  ugliness,  surely?  Sometimes  he  needs  her 
money  enough  to  make  him  overlook  appearances, 
but  that  is  circumstantial  accident." 

"Are  a  woman's  heart  and  a  woman's  soul  to 
count  as  nothing?" 

"A  woman's  heart  and  a  woman's  soul?"  Lady 
Kildare  tapped  her  high-heeled  shoe  on  the  floor  and 
laughed  mockingly. 

"Rubbish,  child,  rubbish !  To  be  a  woman  of  fash- 
ion you  must  have  neither.  They  are  so  shockingly 
demode  that  in  good  society  one  does  not  suspect 
even  one's  enemies  of  having  them.  Beauty,  audac- 
ity, a  sharp  tongue  and  a  good  digestion  are  all  that 


Troubles  175 

are  necessary  for  social  distinction.  Such  nonsense 
comes  of  your  provincial  breeding." 

"It  comes  of  my  being  a  natural  woman!" 

"Natural  woman!  How  prodigiously  vulgar, 
child !  I  protest,  you  make  me  quite  faint !  I  never 
could  abide  nature  and  naked  truth — society  decol- 
letee  is  much  more  moral !"  Lady  Kildare  leaned 
back  with  closed  eyes,  inhaling  her  scent-bottle. 

Damaris  rested  her  head  against  the  chair  and 
watched  with  weary  eyes  one  long  streak  of  sun- 
shine that  slipped  in  between  the  blinds  and  lay  like 
a  white  bar  athwart  the  polished  floor  between  them. 
Meantime  the  sharp  old  eyes  studied  her  furtively 
and  unobserved.  She  had  attacked  the  girl  upon 
every  side  and  had  been  baffled.  There  remained 
one  point  of  attack,  sacred  to  the  scrupulous,  but 
Lady  Kildare  was  warm,  tired  and  a  little  spiteful; 
she  would  nettle  the  girl  a  bit,  not  really  hurt  her — 
no,  for  forty  Francis  Yonges  she  would  not  do  that. 

"I  believe  that  gossip  is  right !"  she  said  sud- 
denly. 

"Wherein?"  asked  Damaris  listlessly. 

"Inasmuch  as  it  has  given  your  heart  to  one  who 
leaves  you  a-grieving." 

"Truly  a  most  pitiful  romance,  and  one  worthy 
gossip's  tear  if  it  were  true;  but  surely,  Lady  Kil- 
dare, you  had  the  wisdom  to  deny  it,  since  you  know 
full  well  that  I  intend  to  marry  Mr.  Yonge."  The 
girl  spoke  clearly,  in  a  tone  half  mocking,  but  the 
white  hands  were  clenched  hard  in  her  lap  and  the 
soles  of  her  red  slippers  strained  hard  against  the 
polished  floor.  Even  as  she  spoke  it  seemed  another 


176  The  Carolinians 

who  spoke  from  within  her,  in  a  new  voice,  and  the 
Damaris  she  used  to  be  dwindled  to  a  memory  in 
that  moment. 

"I  pray  pardon,  I  returned  to  seek  my  thimble. 
'Tis  a  rare  one  of  gold,  sent  by  my  godmother  from 
France,  and  I  would  not  willingly  lose  it."  The 
rose-carnation  draperies  of  Mistress  Dorothy  flut- 
tered in  the  doorway. 

Lady  Kildare,  who  had  not  recovered  breath  from 
Damaris's  announcement,  scowled  upon  the  intruder 
and  beat  an  angry  rat-a-tat  with  her  cane. 

Damaris,  all  a-tremble,  dropped  down  upon  her 
knees  in  search  of  the  missing  thimble.  Had  she 
been  overheard?  she  wondered  miserably,  while  a 
flood  of  hot  mortification  and  penitence  swept  over 
her.  Mistress  Dorothy's  handsome  eyes  searched 
the  dusky  corners  sedulously  and  gave  no  sign. 

"Mistress  Morton!"  announced  a  servant,  and  a 
tall  blonde  woman  entered,  whereupon  the  two  kneel- 
ing girls  arose,  as  did  also  her  Ladyship,  and  upon 
the  exchange  of  greetings  she  announced : 

"I  must  be  going ;  affairs  await  me. 

"Permit  me  to  accompany  you  to  your  coach. 
'Tis  clear  that  my  thimble  was  lost  elsewhere,"  said 
Mistress  Dorothy  sweetly. 

Lady  Kildare  grunted  ungraciously.  Damaris 
looked  at  her  entreatingly. 

"I  prithee  give  no  heed  to  the  nonsense  I  have 
been  talking ;  I  was  angered  and  silly,"  she  said  with 
tolerable  indifference. 

"Mercy  on  me,  as  if  I  ever  gave  heed  to  any- 
thing you  say,  seeing  that  you  will  declare  the  oppos- 


Troubles  177 

ite  on  the  morrow  !"  snapped  her  Ladyship.  "Truly 
a  pretty  jest  and  one  past  reason!"  and  her  harsh 
laughter  kept  time  to  the  tapping  of  her  cane  and 
her  sharp  little  heels  as  she  moved  off  in  her  rustling 
brocades  and  tinkling  chains. 

The  last  visitor  had  finally  gone.  Damaris,  wan 
and  weary,  lay  her  head  down  upon  the  window- 
sill.  A  brazen  cloud,  passing  over,  smothered  the 
sky  and  made  the  air  breathless.  Outside  in  a  jujube 
tree  a  cicada  shrilled  harshly.  In  the  world  there 
seemed  to  Damaris  nothing  but  the  discord  of  its 
cry,  her  brain  voiced  it  ever,  and  her  heart  beat  time 
to  its  rasping  measures. 

"Damaris!  Damaris!"  came  her  father's  voice 
from  the  hall.  She  felt  as  though  she  could  not 
move ;  then,  remembering  the  episode  of  the  morn- 
ing, she  rose  slowly,  but  before  she  could  step  for- 
ward her  father  stood  before  her,  more  angry  than 
she  had  ever  seen  him. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  this  conduct,  Damaris? 
A  right  agreeable  and  dignified  position  have  you 
placed  me  in !  This  morning  you  flout  the  idea  of 
marriage  with  Mr.  Yonge,  while  but  half  hour  since 
I  am  congratulated  upon  my  son-in-law-to-be,  upon 
the  authority  of  your  statement.  What  am  I  to 
think?" 

Damaris  was  silent;  speech  seemed  to  her  an  evil 
thing,  her  throat  ached,  her  whole  body  grew  nerve- 
less; she  realized  swiftly  that  this  evil  was  the  re- 
sult of  her  reckless  speech  overheard  and  repeated 
by  Mistress  Dorothy;  for  though  her  Ladyship 


178  The  Carolinians 

would  badger  her  to  extremities,  she  would  never 
betray  her. 

"Did  you  make  such  an  assertion?"  asked  the 
Governor  sharply. 

"Yes,  father,  but  I  did  not  mean  it." 

"Zounds !  do  you  ever  mean  anything  that  you 
say?" 

"  'Twas  but  an  angry  speech  made  to  her  Lady- 
ship when  she  had  harried  me  beyond  patience;  by 
ill-fortune  it  was  overheard  and  mischievously  re- 
peated." 

"Modest  women  do  not  lightly  make  such  asser- 
tions. Even  now  it  runs  through  the  town  like  fire 
through  stubble.  The  Johnsons  keep  their  word." 

"Is  it  your  wish  that  I  should  keep  mine  in  this 
instance  to  repair  my  fault?  Is  it  your  desire  that 
I  should  marry  Mr.  Yonge?" 

There  was  a  stricken  look  in  the  eyes  of  the  girl, 
a  dangerous  tenseness  in  her  voice,  a  suggestion  of 
tragic  amendment  that  should  have  alarmed  the  Gov- 
ernor. 

"I  desire  anything  rather  than  that  you  should 
persevere  in  your  present  outrageous  conduct!"  an- 
swered the  Governor  sharply.  Anger  blinded  him  to 
what  was  unusual  in  her  voice  and  appearance. 

Damaris  leaned  miserably  against  the  window 
frame  and  heard  the  harsh  grating  of  the  cicada. 
In  some  seconds  a  woman  lives  many  years  for  bet- 
ter or  for  worse.  In  a  flash  she  saw  herself  as  her 
father  saw  her,  and  the  revelation  blinded  her  with 
shame.  For  such  the  forfeit  of  her  happiness  was 
paltry  atonement.  She  beat  down  the  self-pity  that 


Troubles  179 

clung  to  her  aching  thoughts,  heeded  not  the  claim 
of  a  faulty  justification  that  writhed  under  crowd- 
ing wrongs,  and  in  a  moment  her  resolve  was  taken, 
the  sum  of  the  philosophies  of  others  became  her 
own. 

"Father,"  she  spoke  timidly. 

The  Governor  started ;  his  eyes  had  lifted  to  the 
portrait  of  her  mother,  and  already  his  heart  was 
softening  toward  her.  It  was  an  ugly  enough  mud- 
dle into  which  her  folly  had  brought  them,  but  he 
would  help  her  through,  so  help  him  God!  She 
was  beautiful,  and  one  forgives  much  to  beauty. 
Beauty  upsets  a  man's  calculations  and  sets  him  at 
variance  with  prudence  and  common  sense. 

"Father,  is  there  any  reason  why  a  woman  should 
not  marry  Mr.  Yonge  ?" 

"By  my  soul,  what  do  you  mean?  What  is  she 
up  to  now,"  he  thought  perplexedly. 

Damaris  played  with  her  fingers  nervously,  her 
color  came  and  went,  a  cold  hand  clutched  the  words 
in  her  throat,  but  finally  sound  came  forth. 

"You  are  wise,  father,  and  as  a  man  you  know 
the  world  as  a  woman  cannot  know  it.  Would  you 
then  advise  a  woman  to  trust  herself  to  him?" 

The  Governor  took  several  steps  across  the  room ; 
his  voice  was  somewhat  disturbed  and  his  eyes 
looked  over  her  head. 

"Do  not  concern  yourself  with  things  beyond  your 
province.  Accept  your  life  as  other  women  do.  Mr. 
Yonge  is  a  man  of  fashion  and  has  probably  taken 
the  pleasures  that  are  permitted  to  such.  I  know 
no  evil  touching  him  or  his  life;  he  is  a  man  of 


180  The  Carolinians 

mettle  and  integrity,  and  I  truly  believe  that  a  wo- 
man would  suffer  no  harm  in  his  keeping.  Come 
now,  little  girl,  we  will  cry  a  truce  to  the  world  and 
its  mischievous  devices.  We  will  go  to  dinner  and 
afterwards  it  will  be  a  hard  case  if  we  devise  not 
some  remedy  for  these  complications.  I  suppose 
that  women  will  be  foolish  as  long  as  men  are  fool- 
ish enough  to  love  them  and  turn  their  heads  with 
flattery. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
A  WOMAN'S  ATONEMENT 

"Dear  joy,  how  I  do  love  thce! 
As  the  birds  do  love  the  spring, 
Or  the  bees  their  careful  king! 
Then   in  requite,  sweet  virgin,   love  me." 

— H.  Constable. 

When  Damaris  was  distressed  her  horse  was  her 
castle.  Safe  upon  Comet's  back  she  felt  that  she 
might  escape  from  the  world  for  a  while,  and  after 
dinner  upon  that  trouble- fraught  day  she  started  out 
eager  for  the  solitude  of  the  blessed  forest,  faint  for 
its  peace.  She  dreaded  to  pass  through  the  streets 
lest  she  meet  acquaintances  full  of  the  gossip  that 
Mistress  Dorothy  had  given  to  the  town's  wagging 
tongue,  but  to  remain  within  at  the  mercy  of  callers 
were  worse.  She  tightened  her  rein  and  dashed 
through  the  more  quiet  streets,  the  trusty  sergeant 
clattering  behind,  the  warm  drops  trickling  from 
his  sunburned  face.  As  yet  the  streets  were  almost 
deserted,  the  town  being  scarcely  arisen  from  its 
siesta.  Under  a  hack-berry  a  negress  drowsed  over 
her  basket  of  fruit,  about  which  yellow- jackets 
swarmed  greedily;  an  Indian,  driving  a  cart  of 
maize,  left  his  load  at  the  tavern  door  and  the  horse 
nodded  and  switched  at  the  flies  while  his  master 
tarried  in  the  sanded  room.  By  the  magazine  stood 


182  The  Carolinians 

a  wagon  high-piled  with  melons;  the  black  driver 
crushed  one  over  his  wheel  and  divided  the  jagged 
red  heart  with  a  one-legged  tinker  who  crooned  a 
Cornwall  ditty  under  a  vine-covered  wall. 

To  the  fervent  heat  of  the  sun  and  to  the  enerva- 
ting influence  of  the  stagnant  air  she  was  indifferent. 
She  was  in  that  dangerous  state  of  self-immolation 
wherein  women  have  given  their  bodies  to  be  burned ; 
a  state  wherein  the  coolest  head  lets  slip  the  wisdom 
of  a  lifetime.  Her  mind  and  energies  were  concen- 
trated upon  one  desperate  decision.  Shame  and 
wounded  pride  and  baffled  love  develop  strange 
daring  in  a  woman.  The  chase  of  life  had  resolved 
itself  into  one  hazardous  leap,  she  meant  to  shut  her 
eyes  and  take  it  blindly.  She  had  lost  what  made 
life  worth  while,  what  mattered  the  rest?  Some 
shame  there  was  in  her  mind  because  of  the  gossip 
which  her  reckless  words  had  started,  but  after  all, 
should  the  rumor  come  to  the  ears  of  Francis  Yonge 
no  great  harm  were  done,  for  gossip  was  fond  of 
exploiting  her  affairs  and  ever  gave  them  some  new 
turn.  Francis  Yonge  was  a  man  of  the  world — he 
would  laugh  at  the  rumor  and  turn  the  laugh  upon 
his  interlocutor.  And  yet  her  own  words  burned 
into  her  brain  and  destroyed  her  usually  clear  points 
of  vision.  Memory  of  her  father's  disapproving 
words  sickened  her;  thoughts  that  she  should  no 
longer  think,  haunted  her ;  and  underlying  all,  break- 
ing through  all  her  courageous  acceptance  of  circum- 
stance, came  the  deathless  cry  of  her  woman's  nature 
which,  like  the  puling  cry  of  a  child,  unsolders  all 
the  finest  philosophies  of  duty  and  expediency. 


A  Woman's  Atonement.  183 

It  was  one  of  those  periods  of  tense  mood  possible 
to  intense  women,  when  the  pendulum  swings  from 
limit  to  limit  as  occasion  determines — moods  when 
the  destiny  of  a  life  hangs  upon  the  chance  of  the 
hour.  Thinking,  she  rode ;  the  city  soon  lay  behind 
her,  the  forest  green  about  her. 

She  slackened  her  rein  in  a  live-oak  thicket,  bosky 
and  shadowy.  Sumachs  thrust  their  crimson  fingers 
through  the  tangle,  and  a  partridge  flew  low  and 
hirpling,  coaxing  away  from  her  brown  brood  that 
scattered  in  the  grass. 

"To  every  thicket  comes  its  Dryad !" 

Damaris  started  affrighted.  Before  her  sat 
Francis  Yonge  on  his  horse,  smiling  and  graceful, 
tossing  away  his  weed  with  calm  insouciance. 

"But  by  my  heart,  you  have  been  long  a  coming !" 

"Do  you  come  from  the  plantations?"  she  asked 
breathlessly. 

"Nay,  I  blush  to  confess  my  whereabouts  and 
occupation  to  such  a  model  of  industry,  but  will  pray 
to  be  shriven  from  my  indolence.  The  day  was 
warm,  a  couch  there  was  upon  a  shady  porch,  a 
romance  there  was  upon  a  convenient  shelf,  a  man 
there  was  averse  to  labor,  so  the  three  fell  together 
and  the  hot  morning  passed." 

Damaris  drew  a  deep  sigh  of  relief.  Mr.  Yonge 
regarded  her  between  his  narrowed  lids.  She  looked 
like  a  white  flower  in  her  white  habit  against  the 
green  setting  of  the  forest.  There  was  a  new  look 
of  intensity  in  the  face  that  became  it,  but  set  him  a 
thinking.  "Somebody  has  been  hurting  her,"  he 
said  to  himself.  Aloud  he  said,  as  their  horses 


184  The  Carolinians 

walked  on  side  by  side,  "I  have  been  waiting  for 
you  a  weary  while." 

"How  knew  you  that  I  would  come?" 

"A  little  bird." 

"A  meddlesome  jay,  I  have  no  doubt." 

"No,  a  paradise  bird." 

"Nay,  not  so ;  birds  of  a  feather  flock  together," 
she  fenced  lightly. 

"Even  as  you  and  I,"  he  answered  with  insinua- 
ting tenderness,  leaning  toward  her  with  entreating 
eyes. 

She  colored,  sat  closer  to  her  saddle,  fixed  her  eyes 
upon  the  coming  leap,  while  her  heart  sickened 
within  her. 

"Truly,  how  came  you  to  know  ?"  she  asked  in  a 
flickering  voice. 

"Very  simple.  My  groom  takes  a  note  to  the 
Governor;  the  groom  a  person  of  observation,  also 
a  person  of  conversation.  'Mr.  Yonge,'  says  he, 
'Mistress  Johnson  is  monstrous  fond  of  riding 
a-horseback;  even  these  warm  afternoons  do  not 
affright  her.'  Whereupon  Mr.  Yonge  became  also 
monstrous  fond  of  riding  a-horseback,  warm  after- 
noons not  affrighting  him." 

"Will  a  gallop  not  affright  you?"  she  asked,  in 
desperate  desire  for  a  moment's  reprieve,  and  with 
a  touch  she  was  off  like  an  arrow  into  the  heart  of 
the  pine  forest  to  which  they  had  come.  Out  of  a 
covert  rose  a  doe  with  a  fawn  at  her  side.  With  the 
fawn's  nose  close  pressing  the  flank  of  its  dam  the 
two  ran  swiftly  through  the  clear  stems  of  the  pines 
to  a  swamp  beyond. 


A  Woman's  Atonement.  185 

"Egad,  what  a  shot!"  Mr.  Yonge  raised  his 
riding  whip  and  sighted  ruefully. 

"You  would  not  kill  a  doe  with  its  young!"  cried 
Damaris  reproachfully. 

"Not  this  one,  at  any  rate,  soft-hearted  lady 
mine,"  he  sighed,  still  gazing  regretfully  through  the 
glooming  stems  of  the  pines. 

"With  a  man  'tis  ever  the  instinct  of  the  hunter." 

"And  with  a  woman  'tis  ever  the  instinct  of 
flight."  He  looked  significantly  at  her  and  she 
colored  beneath  his  intense  eyes.  "Will  you  always 
flee  my  love,  fair,  sweet  friend  ?  Methinks  we  have 
come  to  the  point  where  jesting  ends.  Can  no  word 
of  mine  stay  you,  no  devotion  bind  you  ?"  He  was 
indeed  in  sober  earnest  now;  his  brow  was  drawn, 
his  words  came  slowly. 

"Would  you  like  to  bind  me  and  I  did  not  love 
you?"  she  asked  softly.  She  had  come  to  the  leap; 
it  was  fate.  Would  her  courage  hold  out?  she 
wondered. 

"Bind  you  I  would,  whatever  betide.  I  would 
give  my  life  to  teach  you  to  love  me,  so  help  me 
Heaven!" 

"And  you  did  not  teach  me?"  Her  eyes  were 
open  wide ;  she  saw  the  leap,  the  prospect  frightened 
her,  yet  something  was  thrusting  her  forward. 

"Right  gladly  would  I  hazard  my  all  upon  the 
odds.  Come  weal  or  come  woe,  come  love  or  come 
indifference,  I  would  have  and  hold  you,  in  heaven 
or  hell,  through  time  and  eternity !"  Francis  Yonge 
folded  his  arms  upon  his  chest  and  looked  at  her 
with  a  nobler  look  upon  his  face  than  she  had  ever 


186  The  Carolinians 

seen  there  before,  and  something  in  her  own  heart 
smote  her. 

Damaris  rode  on  in  silence  for  a  space,  then  she 
drew  a  deep  breath  and  raised  her  troubled  eyes  to 
him. 

"I  like  you  passing  well,  Mr.  Yonge ;  I  find  your 
company  agreeable;  if  you  fear  not  the  venture,  you 
may  engage  to  teach  me  something  more."  She  put 
whip  to  her  horse  with  the  last  word  and  was  away 
like  a  flash. 

Francis  Yonge  knitted  his  brows  and  looked  after 
her  with  grave  eyes.  'Twas  not  thus  that  he  had 
hoped  to  win  her  and  his  vanity  received  a  shock. 
Indeed,  until  within  the  past  few  weeks  he  had  not 
been  very  hopeful  of  success ;  he  had  but  followed 
because  he  must.  Now  that  she  listened  to  him  there 
seemed  something  behind.  She  was  a  bewildering 
and  incomprehensible  creature,  but  immeasurably 
dear  to  him  on  any  terms.  There  would  be  no  risk 
with  a  woman  like  her,  and  risk  or  no  risk  he  would 
take  it  and  be  grateful.  He  put  spurs  to  his  horse 
and  was  swiftly  beside  her;  then  he  lay  his  hand 
upon  her  pommel  and  forced  her  into  a  walk. 

"Will  you  be  my  wife,  Damaris?"  he  asked 
eagerly. 

"Yes."  She  avoided  his  eyes  and  trembled  a 
little. 

"My  love  will  be  a  thousand  tongues  to  teach  you 
what  love  is,"  he  pleaded,  and  his  eyes  glowed  upon 
her. 

"I  will  open  my  heart  to  listen,"  she  answered 
bravely. 


A  Woman's  Atonement.  187 

''We  will  be  so  happy,  sweetheart;  my  life  holds 
but  the  thought  of  you,"  he  urged  warmly. 

"I  trust  my  loyalty  may  repay  you." 

To  Mr.  Yonge  had  come  a  new  experience,  and 
one  that  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  stayed  the  tide 
of  his  speech. 

They  rode  on  in  silence,  his  hand  still  upon  the 
pommel  of  her  saddle,  her  eyes  downcast,  the  color 
in  her  cheeks  deepening  under  the  ardor  of  his  gaze. 
He  looked  upon  the  girl,  elusive  as  a  dream,  and 
repeated  to  himself  that  she  was  his  promised  wife. 
Would  she  ever  come  to  love  him?  he  wondered, 
while  his  heart  contracted  sharply  with  a  new 
humility.  She  was  so  near  he  could  see  the  rise  of 
her  heart-beat  under  the  lappets  of  her  habit,  yet  the 
breadth  of  a  world  seemed  to  lie  between  them. 
He  could  not  understand  the  power  that  lay  between 
them,  or  why  he  had  not  already  made  his  own  the 
sweet  lips  velvety  as  rose  petals.  He  was  a  man 
well  acquainted  with  feminine  frailties  in  courts  and 
in  by-ways,  a  man  to  whom  love  meant  the  sweets  of 
the  eye  and  the  sweets  of  the  touch,  to  whom  women 
were  ripe  fruit  easily  plucked  were  the  hand  that 
coveted  but  a  bold  one.  The  remembrance  of  the 
tawdry  passions  of  his  life  sickened  him.  This 
seemed  to  be  the  first  woman  upon  whom  he  had 
ever  looked  with  reverent  eyes,  and  he  wanted  more 
than  the  bloom  of  her  beauty ;  he  wanted  the  fire  and 
the  dew  and  the  spirit  that  made  up  her  exquisite 
personality.  He  was  a  man  made  up  of  all  that  was 
masculine  and  virile,  in  whose  veins  beat  a  strong 
red  pulse ;  he  wanted  a  woman,  not  a  flower. 


188  The  Carolinians 

After  some  time  she  turned  upon  him  her  clear, 
grave  eyes. 

"Lives  there  aught  in  your  past  that  stands 
between  us?"  she  asked  quietly. 

He  moved  his  hand  from  her  pommel  and  squared 
himself  in  his  saddle,  his  horse  sprang  forward  under 
the  spur.  He  looked  straight  ahead  with  frowning 
eyes,  and  thought  of  his  past.  It  might  shock  her 
a  little,  but  in  it  he  found  no  real  wrong,  because, 
measured  by  the  standards  accepted  by  society,  it 
was  not  wanting.  He  smiled  at  her  possible  prudish 
standards  as  at  a  girlish  dream,  not  life;  after  a 
little  she  would  grow  into  the  world's  grooving,  nor 
lift  her  eyes  to  ideals  impossible  to  men  in  whose 
veins  burned  nature's  free  love,  free  life.  When  he 
had  quieted  his  horse  after  his  ugly  moment  of  intro- 
spection he  turned  to  her  and  answered  quietly : 

"I  was  not  bred  in  the  school  of  saints;  a  nun 
would  weep  over  some  pages  of  my  life.  I  am  no 
better  nor  worse  than  the  men  of  fashion  with  whom 
I  have  consorted;  I  have  taken  the  pleasures  of  the 
town.  However,  I  can  say  truly  that  I  am  a  man 
of  honor,  and  there  is  nothing  in  my  past  that  a 
woman  need  fear." 

"Thank  you,"  she  said  softly,  and  held  out  her 
hand  to  him. 

The  thirsty  intoxication  of  love  made  him  faint 
for  the  sweetness  of  her  lips  and  her  breath  and  the 
touch  of  her  hair.  He  leaned  toward  her,  but  her 
look  restrained  him ;  he  pressed  his  lips  upon  the  cold 
little  hand  with  a  sense  of  loss. 

Through  the  sunset  land  they  rode,  now  in  forest, 
now  in  open.  There  lay  the  rice  fields  ripe  to  the 


A  Woman's  Atonement.  189 

sickle,  opening  their  shimmering  gold  to  the  wind; 
an  alligator  slipped  from  his  oozy  wallow  into  the 
black  water  of  the  ditch ;  an  army  of  rice  birds  rose 
in  a  whirring  cloud  and  drifted  over  to  the  forest 
beyond;  the  lusty  maize,  with  fodder  unplucked, 
gave  a  thousand  tongues  to  the  breeze  as  it  measured 
its  blades  and  buffeted  its  tassels. 

The  fullness  of  summer  rankly  ripe,  faint  with  the 
sensuous  orgy  of  over-bloom,  swooned  to  the  cold 
touch  of  the  delaying  frost. 

The  twilight  hovered  the  drowsy  earth  under  its 
downy  wings ;  about  them,  through  the  forest,  gath- 
ered the  ghostly  company  of  shadows ;  the  spirits  of 
forests  long  dead  lifted  up  their  voices  in  the  sough- 
ing night  wind;  bats  lapped  heavily  in  their  flight; 
owls  hooted  dismally  aloft  in  the  tree  tops. 

The  girl  seemed  a  part  of  the  hushed  world  about 
her.  Not  so  Mr.  Yonge;  gay  as  a  troubadour  he 
rode,  and  right  bravely  he  wooed,  though  a  quiet 
smile  was  the  warmest  rejoinder  his  devotion  won 
him.  When  they  reached  home  he  lifted  her  from 
her  horse. 

"Courage,  sweetheart!  I  will  wait  in  the  piazza 
until  you  come.  My  prayers  go  with  you,  my 
happiness  lies  in  the  Governor's  hands." 

Damaris  looked  into  the  drawing-room;  it  was 
deserted ;  she  passed  on  to  the  library ;  the  lights  were 
turned  low;  there  by  a  window  sat  the  Governor 
smoking.  She  walked  over  to  him  swiftly. 

"Father,"  she  said,  catching  her  breath,  that  broke 
off  sharply,  "I  have  promised  to  be  Mr.  Yonge's 
wife ;  he  is  waiting  without  to  see  you." 


190  The  Carolinians 

"Great  God,  child,  what  have  you  done?  What 
new  folly  is  this  ?"  cried  the  Governor,  springing  to 
his  feet. 

"The  Johnson's  keep  their  word;  it  is  the  least 
that  I  can  do,"  she  answered  proudly. 

The  Governor  stood  conscience-stricken  before 
her. 

"I  was  angered  with  you,  child ;  mortified  beyond 
reason  at  the  gossip  you  fed  with  your  folly.  I 
would  rather  lose  name  and  fame  a  thousand  times 
than  have  you  enter  a  loveless  marriage.  I  will  stop 
it  straight  before  it  goes  further.  What  madness  to 
mend  folly  with  folly!  Mr.  Yonge  is  a  man  of 
honor ;  I  will  explain  the  matter  to  him  and  ask  him 
to  release  you." 

"Nay,  father,  it  is  for  my  happiness.  I  myself 
have  promised  freely." 

"Do  you  love  him?"  asked  the  Governor  sternly. 

She  hesitated  and  avoided  his  eyes. 

"By  my  troth,  methinks,  father,  that  you  are 
growing  sentimental  in  the  twilight.  I  will  turn  up 
the  lights,"  she  fenced  lightly. 

"Do  you  love  him?"  the  Governor  repeated 
sternly. 

"Nay,  father,  you  press  me  too  close;  he  did  not 
ask  me  that.  Besides,  there  are  so  many  definitions 
of  love.  Be  content ;  he  is  well  so  with  what  I  have 
given  him,  and  Lady  Kildare  says — " 

"Damn  Lady  Kildare!"  cried  his  Excellency 
savagely.  "I  won't  have  my  daughter's  life  spoiled 
with  her  tinkling  French  philosophy." 

"Stay,  father" — she  laid  her  hand  upon  his 
shoulder — "I  must  marry  some  day;  why  not  Mr. 


A  Woman's  Atonement.  191 

Yonge,  since  he  pleases  me  well  ?  Truly,  I  hope  to 
be  happy." 

"My  child,  my  child,  could  I  but  be  sure  of  your 
heart."  The  Governor  held  her  close  in  his  arms. 

;<  'Tis  a  vastly  fine  match,  father." 

"Damn  all  the  fine  matches  in  the  world.  If  I 
only  knew,  if  I  only  knew  how  much  in  earnest  you 
are,"  he  sighed  heavily. 

"We  can't  know ;  we  can  only  hope,"  she  pleaded 
bravely. 

The  Governor  did  not  speak ;  he  only  pressed  her 
closer  to  him. 

"It  will  come  all  right,  father ;  I  am  going  to  be 
very  happy.  Be  kind  to  Mr.  Yonge  for  my  sake; 
I  believe  that  he  loves  me  truly. 

She  reached  up  and  kissed  him,  then  slipped  from 
his  arms  and  was  gone  before  he  could  speak. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ILL   TIDINGS 

"There  is  no  armor  against  fate." 

— James  Shirley. 

Just  as  the  sunset  gun  was  fired  upon  October  3 
a  tidy  coastwise  craft  ran  in  upon  the  first  flush  of 
the  turning  tide,  and  great  news  brought  she  to  the 
town,  for  to  the  watchman  her  master  related  that 
hard  by  the  bar,  awaiting  the  tide,  the  Henry  and 
the  Sea  Nymph  lay,  with  their  three  pirate  craft  in 
tow. 

Straightway  sent  the  watchman  a  runner  to  the 
Governor  and  in  a  time  incredibly  short  the  whole 
town  was  abroad  rejoicing  in  the  good  news  and 
hastening  hot-foot  to  the  landing. 

Between  the  hours  of  9  and  10  the  notable  fleet 
came  to  anchor  amid  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  firing 
of  guns  and  the  shouts  of  the  populace. 

Colonel  Rhett  was  the  first  to  land ;  close  upon  him 
Captain  Maynard,  with  the  pirate's  wallet  in  his 
breast,  his  eager  eyes  seeking  through  the  crowd  for 
one  dream  face.  Around  them  pressed  the  people, 
great  and  small.  There  was  confusion  of  questions, 
wringing  of  hands,  cheers,  hat-tossing  and  mad  joy, 
for  truly  a  great  day  had  come  unto  the  Province; 


Ill  Tidings  193 

the  Lord  had  heard  the  prayers  of  His  people  and 
delivered  their  enemy  into  their  hands. 

Above  the  surging  crowd  rose  the  commanding 
figure  of  the  Governor.  Upon  him  fastened  the  eyes 
of  the  eager  Captain,  for  surely  close  to  her  father 
would  the  daughter  be  found. 

"Damaris!"  With  the  thought  the  crowd  faded 
away,  the  voice  of  the  people  failed,  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Cape  Fear  rolled  about  him,  the  dead  face  of 
the  pirate  smiled  inscrutably,  his  hot  tears  fell  upon 
the  bruised  blossom  while  he  trembled  at  the  thought 
of  a  woman's  grief,  and  turned  his  reverent  eyes 
from  the  vision  of  shame  he  had  brought  her. 

"Right  gladly  do  we  greet  you.  You  have  the 
gratitude  of  the  people.  It  is  a  great  day,"  cried 
his  Excellency  heartily,  wringing  his  hand  warmly. 

"Now  God  be  praised  that  you  be  come  again  and 
that  not  empty  handed !" 

"The  scurvy  scoundrels  made  it  warm  for  us, 
your  Excellency,  but  we  have  brought  them  to  the 
gallows  at  last." 

"And  a  right  reasonable  end  for  so  much  villainy." 

"So  it  is,  your  Excellency;  may  their  bones  rot! 
Is  Mistress  Damaris  abroad  to-day  ?" 

"Nay,  she  pleaded  a  headache;  she  tarries  at 
home."  The  Governor  looked  over  the  young  man's 
head  with  troubled  eyes. 

"With  your  Honor's  permission  I  will  shortly 
inquire  after  her  indisposition,"  the  young  man 
replied  gladly,  for  surely  now  fortune  favored  him 
at  last,  and  even  while  the  town  gave  itself  up  to 
noisy  demonstration  he  would  have  his  blessed  hour 
untroubled. 


194  The  Carolinians 

For  a  moment  he  saw  heaven  opened,  angels 
ascending  and  descending,  all  bore  the  face  of 
Damaris — the  sight  blinded  him  and  breath  failed. 
The  happiness  in  the  eager  face  and  the  glad  tones 
puzzled  the  Governor;  he  would  spare  this  brave 
heart,  he  thought  compassionately.  He  moved  a 
step  closer  and  laid  his  hand  on  his  arm,  but  at  the 
moment  Mistress  Dorothy  claimed  the  Captain's 
attention  right  prettily. 

"To  the  victor  belongs  the  spoils,"  she  spoke 
graciously,  holding  out  a  bunch  of  red  roses  and 
smiling  brilliantly. 

"Then  by  your  leave,  Mistress  Dorothy,  I  will 
pass  them  on  to  Colonel  Rhett,  for  I  am  but  a  small 
person  in  this  affair,"  answered  the  Captain  with 
unflattering  alacrity. 

"Nay,  pardee,  there  are  victors  and  victors.  To 
you  belong  these  by  right  of  conquest."  She  smiled 
tenderly  under  her  silken  lashes  and  courtesied  so 
low  that  her  yellow  gown  lay  like  a  drift  of  wind- 
blown leaves  in  autumn. 

"My  fairest  thanks,  Mistress  Dorothy."  He 
bowed  low,  biting  his  lips  with  impatience,  and  never 
before  had  he  looked  so  grand,  for  the  King's  scarlet 
became  him  well  and  he  looked  as  proudly  out  upon 
the  world  as  one  who  held  it  in  his  keeping.  "And 
now  I  would  pray  you  excuse  me,  seeing  that 
important  matters  await  me." 

"Nay,  you  are  truly  unkind,  your  haste  is  un- 
seemly. There  are  things  that  I  would  say  to  you 
concerning  your  interest."  Her  heart  burned  to  tell 
him  the  news  of  Damaris,  but  vanity  restrained  her ; 
she  feared  what  she  might  see  in  his  face. 


Ill  Tidings  195 

"Well?"  he  queried,  twisting  his  hat  impatiently 
in  his  hand. 

"  Ton  my  conscience,  you  make  me  nervous.  Go, 
but  seek  me  later  when  your  business  is  despatched 
and  I  will  tell  you  many  things." 

"I  shall  be  pleased  to  wait  upon  you.  Good- 
morning.  Mistress  Dorothy,  many  thanks."  And 
without  waiting  further  bidding  he  escaped. 

Mistress  Dorothy  stamped  her  pretty  foot,  and 
with  angry  eyes  watched  the  tall,  strong  man  make 
his  way  masterfully  through  the  crowd. 

"So,  ho,  Knight  of  the  Tomahawk,  and  Knight 
of  the  Black  Flag,  not  so  fast  with  you ;  the  enemy 
will  keep."  Lady  Kildare  leaned  out  of  her  coach 
and  tapped  him  upon  the  arm  with  her  cane.  "Have 
you  buried  your  manners  at  sea  that  you  have  not  a 
civil  word  for  a  friend  ?" 

"For  a  friend?"  asked  the  Captain  quizzically,  as 
he  greeted  her  with  a  tolerable  show  of  cordiality. 

"Well,  enemy.  To  succeed  in  life  one  must  forget 
one's  friends  and  love  one's  enemies." 

"It  is  not  always  so  easy  to  discriminate." 

"No,  truly  it  is  not.  Even  now  I  am  more  than 
half  your  friend  since  you  no  longer  stand  in  the 
way  of  my  plans.  One's  plans  are  one's  children, 
you  know,  and  must  be  raised  at  the  sacrifice  of  all 
else." 

"Yes,  your  Ladyship,"  he  answered  absently. 
His  thoughts  were  under  the  magnolias  and  he  saw 
only  a  pair  of  eyes  like  the  sky  with  the  moonlight 
upon  it. 

"While  you  have  been  sailing  the  seas  a-catching 
pirates,  somebody  else  has  caught  your  sweetheart." 


196  The  Carolinians 

"Your  Ladyship  has  the  advantage  of  me,"  he 
answered  stiffly. 

"Nay,  'tis  Mr.  Yonge  who  has  the  advantage  of 
you,  seeing  that  he  is  newly  betrothed  to  Mistress 
Damaris." 

"Your  Ladyship  is  pleased  to  jest,  perchance?" 

"  Ton  my  conscience,  no ;  'tis  very  pretty  earnest, 
I  dare  swear." 

The  hand  of  the  young  man  closed  hard  upon  the 
carriage  door. 

"He  is  a  most  fortunate  gentleman,"  he  said 
quietly,  yet  to  himself  it  seemed  that  some  one  else 
had  spoken. 

"There  was  a  time  when  I  feared  that  you  pleased 
the  girl's  foolish  fancy,  and  'pon  my  conscience  I 
was  monstrous  uneasy." 

"Your  Ladyship  flatters  me.  Mistress  Damaris 
is  a  lady  of  taste." 

"So  I  thought,"  she  replied,  looking  upon  him 
enigmatically,  "but  she  has  proven  herself  a  woman 
of  wisdom.  Mr.  Yonge  is  a  vastly  genteel  match." 

"Most  admirable  in  every  sense,  your  Ladyship. 
And  now  I  will  bid  you  good-morning,  since  urgent 
matters  await  me." 

"Remember  I  am  your  friend." 

'  'Tis  not  likely  that  your  Ladyship  will  allow 
me  to  forget.  Good-morning."  Straight  as  an 
arrow  he  walked  away,  disappearing  around  the 
corner  of  a  warehouse. 

"Plucky,  plucky,  plucky,"  murmured  her  Lady- 
ship, following  him  with  admiring  eyes.  "By  the 
Lord  Harry,  he  is  a  man.  Red  blood  and  blue  blood 
make  up  a  gentleman."  Then  she  fell  back  among 


Ill  Tidings  197 

the  cushions  with  an  exclamation  of  impatience. 
"  Ton  my  conscience,  though,  I  would  liefer  another 
had  told  him.  I  can't  rid  me  of  the  look  in  the  boy's 
eyes;  honest  eyes  they  are,  too.  I  truly  had  not 
thought  that  it  meant  so  much  to  him ;  lately  he  has 
seemed  but  lukewarm  in  his  wooing.  This  is  what 
comes  of  interfering  with  Providence.  Bah,  what 
bunglers  we  are!  We  weave  a  coil  to  catch  a  fly 
and  when  we  catch  him  he  isn't  the  one  we  want. 
We  follow  ambition  and  love  dogs  our  footsteps. 
Faugh,  what  maudlin  nonsense  am  I  talking!  It 
smells  of  cottages  and  woodbine."  She  shook  her 
perfume  bottle  in  the  air,  lifted  her  head,  righted 
herself  in  her  rustling  brocades,  then  leaned  over  to 
greet  Mr.  Yonge  with  a  sharp  epigram. 

Meanwhile,  prone  on  his  face  upon  the  sands  of 
the  shore  lay  the  man  who  at  dawn  had  held  the 
fullness  of  the  earth  in  his  keeping.  If  thought  came 
to  his  stunned  brain,  he  knew  it  not;  he  seemed  to 
lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  and  all  of  its  waves  rolled 
over  him. 

The  gulls  dashed  their  wings  in  the  dipping  waves, 
rose  and  fell  on  the  pulse  of  the  air,  screamed  above 
the  prostrate  figure,  then  circled  around  in  ever- 
widening  curves,  while  the  wind,  with  its  gathering 
tale  of  ruth,  was  off  with  a  sigh  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth. 

No  hand  can  stay  the  chartered  tragedies  of  life 
or  take  from  loss  its  sting — each  suffers  as  each  lives. 
We  choose  for  our  portion  the  sweet  herbs  of  life, 
but  we  partake  of  the  sacrificial  feast  with  the  hyssop. 
Brew  we  the  cup  of  life  never  so  sweetly,  there  comes 
some  hand  to  mix  in  the  wormwood. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

COURAGE 

"O,  woe  is  me 
To  have  seen  what  I  have  seen,  see  what  I  see." 

— Hamlet. 

The  stirring  month  of  October  was  drawing  to 
its  mellow  close.  Outside  the  oranges  hung  golden, 
the  pomegranates  purple-russet  upon  their  stems.  A 
wind,  heavy  with  the  clinging  mist  that  gathered 
upon  the  ruffled  face  of  the  waters,  rumpled  the 
tawny  fringes  of  the  chrysanthemum  and  scattered 
the  rose  leaves'  scented  charms. 

Lady  Kildare  entertained  a  large  company  at  din- 
ner in  honor  of  the  victory  over  the  pirates.  Both 
heroes  of  that  occasion  were  present,  though  Cap- 
tain Maynard  had  been  impressed  with  difficulty 
by  the  gibing  tongue  of  the  redoubtable  hostess. 
The  elaborate  meal  was  ended,  wines  and  tobacco 
finished,  and  the  company  assembled  in  the  fine 
drawing-room. 

Close  to  the  hearth,  where  blazed  a  goodly  fire  of 
cedar  logs,  in  her  high  carven  chair  the  hostess  sat 
in  state ;  around  her  spread  the  stiff  folds  of  her  pur- 
ple brocade  and  the  daintily  slippered  foot  rested 
upon  its  footstool.  Opposite  sat  the  Governor  and 
around  the  others  were  grouped. 


Courage  199 

"  Ton  my  conscience,  your  Honor,  since  the  third 
of  this  present  eventful  October  uneasy  has  lain  my 
head  and  broken  have  been  my  slumbers,  because  I 
was  affrighted  lest  a  blood-thirsty  pirate  should  be 
helping  himself  to  my  jewels  or  disfiguring  my  per- 
son with  his  dagger,"  said  her  Ladyship. 

"Nay,  your  Ladyship,  I  think  that  you  do  but 
disturb  yourself  unnecessarily.  Though,  indeed,  we 
have  a  crying  need  for  a  gaol,  I  think  our  prisoners 
are  safely  placed.  For  the  gaol,  I  am  hoping  to  have 
it  in  the  near  future,  the  late  occurrences  making  it 
the  more  imperative,  and  I  have  again  laid  the  mat- 
ter before  the  Board  with  all  urgency.  For  the  pres- 
ent the  prisoners  are  in  the  Watch  House,  about 
which  Captain  Nathaniel  Partridge,  our  doughty 
Provost  Marshal,  sets  a  strict  guard.  Bonnet,  with 
his  sailing  master,  Heriot,  and  boatswain,  Pell,  have 
been  removed  to  the  Marshal's  own  house,  under  his 
direct  supervision,  so  I  think  your  Ladyship  may 
compose  her  dreams  with  all  serenity." 

"Marry,  and  I'll  do  no  such  thing  until  I  know 
that  they  are  six  foot  underground.  The  only  harm- 
less pirate  is  one  returned  to  earth,  bones  and  mar- 
row. Harkye,  I  have  no  confidence  in  your  make- 
shift gaols,  for  all  your  fine  assurances.  I'll  wager 
that  some  escape  you." 

"We  do  our  utmost  to  prevent  it,  your  Ladyship." 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  why  don't  you  hang  them 
and  be  done;  why  fatten  them  for  the  crows?" 

"That,  Madam,  is  easily  explained.  Under  the 
old  statute  of  His  Majesty  Henry  VIIL,  by  which  we 
have  formerly  proceeded,  justice  drags  a  slow  and 


200  The  Carolinians 

tortuous  course ;  the  new  Act,  to  pass  which  we  con- 
vened the  Assembly,  was  passed  upon  October  the 
1 8th,  and  now  since  all  cases  are  duly  and  justly 
provided  for,  the  law  will  take  its  course  without 
further  delay." 

"Law  and!  humbug!  Schemes  to  fatten  the  law- 
yers! Hang  them  off-hand.  Aren't  you  the  Gov- 
ernor of  this  Province  and  don't  you  know  that  they 
are  thieves  taken  red-handed?  And  marry,  what 
does  it  amount  to  after  all,  this  hanging  of  a  score 
or  two  of  pirates — it  will  but  anger  the  hordes  of 
villains  who  infest  our  coast  and  bring  them  upon  us 
the  more  hotly." 

"That  also  has  been  considered,  your  Ladyship. 
Only  this  morning  of  October  2ist  have  I  written  to 
the  Commissioners  of  Trade,  laying  our  necessities 
before  them,  recounting  our  recent  victory  with  the 
fruits  thereof,  and  requesting  them  to  send  a  vessel 
suitable  for  the  protection  of  the  Province. 

"Fiddlesticks  and  ink!  Our  gracious  masters 
have  hearkened  so  willingly  to  us  in  times  past  that 
it  is  right  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  Commis- 
sioners, with  whom  we  have  no  ado,  will  comply 
with  our  demands.  Their  Lordships  will  see  that 
the  Board  refuses !"  she  cried  irately,  spreading  out 
her  jewelled  fingers  to  the  blaze. 

"They  needs  must  see  the  reasonableness  of  this 
demand,  and  His  Majesty's  ships  are  kept  for  the 
protection  of  his  people,"  replied  the  Governor,  sigh- 
ing heavily. 


Courage  201 

"A  purblind  generation,  gamesters  and  profli- 
gates, worshippers  of  gold  and  their  own  devices — 
what  care  they  for  reason !" 

"Nay,  Madam,  they  are  our  masters." 

"Our  oppressors,  you  should  say !  Harkye,  Gov- 
ernor Johnson,  oppressions  among  people  wear 
themselves  out ;  there  comes  an  end  sooner  or  later." 

"They  err  not  knowing,  Madam." 

"Then  is  their  ignorance  the  more  criminal,  see- 
ing that  their  opportunities  are  large  and  we  within 
their  power." 

"I  am  hoping  speedily  to  hear  from  them  and  that 
to  our  advantage." 

"Then  build  you  a  bridge  of  rotten  sticks,  your 
Excellency;  'twill  never  carry  you  over." 

"You  are  ever  a  prophetess  of  evil,  Lady  Kildare." 

"Nay,  not  always ;  there  was  I  a  prophetess  of  fair 
fortune."  She  nodded  toward  the  end  of  the  room, 
where  Mistress  Damaris  sat  in  the  window  seat  look- 
ing out  into  the  garden,  Francis  Yonge  besid'e  her, 
exquisite  as  Beau  Nash,  consuming  her  with  ador- 
ing eyes. 

"God  grant  it  prove  so !"  he  answered  gravely. 

"Now,  meseems,  you  are  the  prophet  of  evil," 
she  replied,  frowning  and  tapping  her  foot  till  the 
diamond  buckle  made  pretty  lightnings  about  the 
velvet  hassock. 

"God  forbid !  My  child's  happiness  is  the  dearest 
thing  to  my  heart !" 

"Truly  she  has  every  prospect  of  happiness.  Never 
a  woman  with  a  fairer  future." 

"It  gratifies  me  to  hear  you  so  speak." 


202  The  Carolinians 

"Can  you  doubt  it?" 

"How  should  I  tell?  It  is  a  serious  step  and  a 
grave  risk.  Would  it  were  in  a  parent's  power  to 
insure  such  things." 

"Common  sense,  not  sentiment,  insures  such 
things,"  she  replied  sharply.  "Fortune  and  position 
are  what  common  sense  demands ;  for  the  rest,  that 
silly  disturbance  called  love  is  but  an  obstacle  to 
wise  matches." 

"Nay,  your  Ladyship,  it  makes  the  only  wise 
ones/ 

"Twaddle,  twaddle,  your  Excellency !  Only  dairy 
maids  fall  in  love,  even  courtezans  demand  a  higher 
price.  Ah,  here  comes  Captain  Maynard,  hero  of  a 
forest  of  wigwams  and  a  sea  of  pirates.  How  goes 
the  world,  my  gentle  brave?" 

"Truly  above  reproach,  since  your  Ladyship  has 
the  ruling  thereof  at  this  present,"  he  answered  as 
he  took  the  seat  designated. 

"And  beyond  regret?"  she  asked,  and  her  eyes 
passed  over  his  head  to  the  window  beyond. 

"Above  reproach  and  beyond  regret,  your  Lady- 
ship," he  answered  steadily. 

"Then  stand  you  where  the  gods  have  stood !" 

"With  the  goddesses  I  am  well  content,"  he  bowed 
deferentially. 

"Now  be  you  a  pretty  dissembler  at  least,  and 
compliments  seem  the  fashion  of  the  sea.  But  it 
costs  something  to  be  a  god."  There  was  a  look  of 
admiration  in  the  keen  old  eyes. 

"Pardon,  Madam,  I  do  not  understand  you." 


Courage  203 

"  'Pon  my  conscience,  I  do  not  mean  that  you 
should,  I  am  a  woman.  I  have  done  you  a  kindness 
to-day — Mistress  Dorothy  was  not  bidden  to  my 
feast." 

"Again,  Madam,  I  do  not  understand." 

"Again  you  are  a  pretty  dissembler." 

"I  am  of  but  a  sorry  wit  and  cannot  follow  your 
Ladyship." 

"I  am  of  but  a  delicate  wit  and  cannot  enlighten 
your  Lordship,"  she  mimicked  mockingly. 

"To  your  Ladyship  all  things  are  possible." 

"Gramercy!  think  you  so?  She  looked  beyond 
to  the  couple  in  the  window.  "What  think  you  of 
our  newly  betrothed — think  you  not  that  they  are  a 
right  pretty  pair  and  vastly  well  matched?"  Her 
shrewd,  brilliant  eyes  were  fixed  upon  him. 

He  turned  around  that  he  might  regard  them 
fairly,  then  looking  full  into  the  eyes  of  his  inquis- 
itor he  answered  pleasantly : 

"Yea,  your  Ladyship,  they  are  vastly  well- 
matched  and  do  credit  to  your  discrimination.  All 
happiness  attend  them." 

The  old  lady  measured  him  fully.  There  was 
a  look  of  pity,  of  regret  almost,  in  the  hard,  clever 
face  as  she  spoke : 

"I  believe  you  were  made  for  a  soldier.  Caesar 
could  not  have  done  better."  To  herself  she  said : 
"Heigho,  what  a  wicked,  meddlesome  schemer  I  am. 
We  can't  pay  our  debts  with  other  people's  blood.  I 
do  not  feel  as  victorious  as  I  should." 

"There,  pick  up  my  stick."  As  he  handed  it  to 
her  she  laid  her  cold  fingers  upon  his  strong  brown 


204  The  Carolinians 

ones.  "I  would  rather  be  your  friend  than  your 
enemy,  boy,  but  circumstance  rides  me  at  its  own 
gait  and  sometimes  'tis  the  pace  that  kills  others.  Ah, 
Colonel  Rhett;  here  comes  another  hero.  I  feel  al- 
most as  though  I  were  at  the  siege  of  Troy.  Tis 
indeed  a  field-day  for  heroes." 

"And  Attic  salt,"  said  the  tall,  handsome  officer, 
bowing  and  taking  the  seat  vacated  by  Maynard. 

Then  launched  her  Ladyship  and  the  gallant  offi- 
cer straightway  into  brilliant  conversation,  but  over 
and  over  the  stifled  voice  of  her  mind  was  murmur- 
ing: "Why  did  I  jilt  the  grandsire  of  Francis 
Yonge  ?  Are  we  never  rid  of  the  past  or  quit  of  its 
debts?" 

Captain  Maynard,  meanwhile,  had  passed  into  the 
hall  and  thence  into  the  garden.  To  set  one's  face  to 
take  up  a  life  that  has  lost  hope  requires  the  hardiest 
powers  of  the  soul,  and  between  heats  the  staunchest 
heart  fails  sometimes. 

In  the  window  Damaris  still  sat.  She  saw  the 
familiar  figure  disappear  under  the  magnolias,  and 
her  eyes  rested  dully  upon  the  umbrageous  shades 
that  had  swallowed  him  out  of  her  sight. 

"Nay,  mistress,  find  you  in  that  dull  garden  things 
more  to  your  liking  than  my  adoring  eyes?"  spoke 
Francis  Yonge  reproachfully.  Damaris  started 
guiltily,  then  seeing  that  the  garden  was  hidden  from 
him,  turned  her  back  upon  it  and  lifted  her  eyes  to 
him.  "So,  sweetheart,  'tis  better  so.  I  am  jealous 
of  even  the  flowers  that  your  sweet  eyes  rest  upon. 

"Weary  you  never  of  making  pretty  speeches  ?" 


Courage  205 

"Nay,  gave  I  hundred  lifetimes  to  it,  the  pretti- 
ness  of  all  my  speeches  could  but  touch  the  hem  of 
your  prettiness." 

"Troth,  you  have  ever  a  readiness  therein.  Me- 
thinks  'tis  practice  makes  you  perfect." 

"  Tis  the  fullness  of  my  heart  that  overflows  to 
you- ward." 

"So  often  has  it  overflowed  that  but  a  touch  tips 
it  over." 

"Nay,  but  you  are  cruel,  fair  love!" 

"Not  cruel,  but  well  informed." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?"  he  asked  sharply,  leaning 
toward  her. 

"What  do  I  mean  ?"  she  asked,  and  laughed  a  lit- 
tle. "What  do  I  ever  mean  ?  Have  you  ever  found 
out?" 

"By  my  sweet  life,  I  have  not !" 

"Then,  prithee,  do  not  try;  'tis  not  worth  your 
pains,  I  do  assure  you." 

"Whatever  concerns  you  is  vastly  worth  while." 

"Do  not  let  it  be  so.  The  less  I  concern  you  the 
happier  you  will  be."  She  was  looking  out  into  the 
garden  again  and  spoke  absently. 

"There  you  are  wrong.  For  me  there  is  no  hap- 
piness where  you  are  not." 

"Are  you  quite  sure  there  will  be  happiness  with 
me?"  she  asked  gently,  and  there  was  pain  in  her 
eyes. 

"Whatever  there  were  with  you,  'twere  hell  with- 
out you !"  he  answered  passionately. 

She  drew  back  and  trembled  a  little  under  his  in- 
tense eyes. 


206  The  Carolinians 

"It  were  better  and  you  did  not  care  too  greatly 
for  me.  Just  love  me  enough  to  be  loyal.  That  is 
all  the  love  I  can  give,  and  I  would  not  be  too  much 
beholden!"  she  spoke  pitifully. 

"To  measure  my  love  or  to  stay  it  were  not  in 
my  power.  You  must  love  me  some  day,  seeing 
that  my  love  is  so  great,  and  love  begets  love.  Say 
'tis  true,  sweetheart!" 

"Nay,  words  are  idle,"  she  said,  trying  to  speak 
lightly,  for  the  strain  of  the  situation  was  becom- 
ing unendurable  to  her.  "I  must  go  to  Lady  Kil- 
dare — I  have  neglected  my  hostess  shockingly!" 
And  in  a  moment,  before  he  could  interfere,  she  had 
harbored  herself  safely  with  her  Ladyship. 

Francis  Yonge  stood  looking  after  her  with  ill- 
concealed  vexation  and  with  somewhat  of  righteous 
indignation  in  his  heart.  The  plumes  of  his  vanity 
were  more  than  a  little  bedraggled  in  the  dust  of 
her  indifference;  his  creed,  man's  inalienable  right 
to  rule  the  woman,  was  sorely  shaken  by  the  girl; 
also  he  was  enjoying  the  disappointments  of  suc- 
cess. He  set  his  teeth  together  and  smiled  bitterly. 
"  'Tis  not  yet  the  end.  Tis  a  hard  matter,  but  I  can 
win  her.  Damn  that  contradiction  of  reason,  a  wo- 
man's will !  I  have  heard  of  men  being  in  love,  but 
the  chiefest  of  such  fools  am  I !  Heigho,  I  will  talk 
to  the  Governor;  he  quiets  a  man's  humor." 

Meanwhile  Lady  Kildare  was  saying  to  Damaris : 

"Just  in  time,  child,  to  do  me  a  service.  Pri- 
thee, seek  my  scent-bottle  somewhere ;  likely  'tis  on 
my  dressing-table.  The  air  of  this  room  is  too  fresh 


Courage  207 

and  crude,  October  roses  give  no  fragrance.  The 
air  au  naturel  suits  not  cultivated  taste." 

Having  found  the  missing  trifle,  Damaris  had 
reached  the  foot  of  the  stair,  when  through  the  door- 
way, almost  opposite,  Captain  Maynard  stepped  in 
from  the  garden.  Face  to  face  they  stood,  each 
startled,  each  silent,  each  with  a  white  face.  Da- 
maris was  the  first  to  regain  composure — women 
live  upon  their  nerves  and  rise  more  easily  to  the 
occasion. 

"This  is  the  first  opportunity  I  have  had  to  con- 
gratulate you  upon  your  successful  expedition,"  she 
spoke  a  little  breathlessly. 

"Also  the  first  that  I  have  had  to  congratulate 
you  upon  your  betrothal.  I  wish  you  great  hap- 
piness." 

"Thank  you,"  she  answered  frankly,  looking  fair 
into  his  eyes.  "It  is  pleasant  to  have  friends  ap- 
prove one's  happiness.  Were  the  pirates  very 
fierce?" 

"Some  of  them,"  he  answered.  He  was  thinking 
of  the  one  who  had  kept  faith  with  her,  and  what 
that  faith  had  cost  himself.  He  could  not  under- 
stand her  conduct,  her  woman's  reasoning  was  be- 
yond his  kenning;  yet  there  came  some  faint  glim- 
merings thereof  upon  which  he  manfully  shut  his 
eyes,  but  which  made  him  very  gentle  with  her,  and 
this  new  softness  in  eyes  that  had  grown  hard  to- 
ward her  puzzled  Damaris.  And  so  the  two  stood, 
a  wall  between  them,  upon  either  hand  a  familiar 
country  holding  a  barred  and  impenetrable  fortress. 
The  mystery  of  life  wrapped  them  about  and  each 


208  The  Carolinians 

seemed  strange  to  the  other.  The  remembrance  of 
their  past  that  flashed  upon  them  was  as  the  famil- 
iar tune  of  a  long- forgotten  song  ending  in  a  sob. 

"It  must  be  fine  to  sail  the  sea,"  she  spoke  after 
a  little. 

"Not  so  fine  as  to  be  in  the  heart  of  the  forest. 
Upon  the  seas  one  seems  too  much  oneself;  in  the 
forest  one  seems  a  part  of  it  all,  one's  personality 
fades  away." 

"That  must  be  beautiful;  would  I  were  there!" 
she  said,  with  wistful  eyes.  "To  lose  one's  person- 
ality would  be  to  lose  one's  troubles." 

"Even  so.  To  be  lapped  away  from  the  compli- 
cations that  make  up  our  lives,  into  the  nascent  rest 
of  uncorrupted  nature,"  he  answered,  speaking  rap- 
idly. He  was  looking  straight  into  the  grey  eyes 
that  he  had  seen' so  often  through  the  boughs  when 
he  lay  wrapped  in  his  blanket  in  the  forest  prim- 
eval. She  started  from  him  guiltily  and  lowered 
her  eyes.  When  she  spoke  again  her  voice  had 
grown  lightly  indifferent. 

"After  all,  it  were  better  to  dwell  in  houses  than 
in  tents.  Doubtless  we  would  weary  soon  enough 
of  being  re-absorbed  in  nature,  the  ego  is  not  easily 
quenched.  For  my  part  I  should  pine  for  my  own 
wilful  way.  Pardon  me,  Lady  Kildare  languishes 
for  her  essences.  What  do  you  think  that  she  would 
say  to  being  re-absorbed  into  nature?" 

"Life  has  so  changed  her  constitution  that  not 
a  natural  atom  could  be  found  therein,  unless  it  be 
the  venom  of  serpents!"  he  replied  bitterly. 


Courage  209 

"Nay,  you  judge  her  harshly;  she  is  better  than 
she  seems.  She  has  lived  so  long  in  a  world  where 
hearts  were  never  trumps  that  she  forgets  hers  un- 
til necessity  forces  her  to  remember  it." 

"  Tis  long  since  she  has  remembered !" 

"You  do  her  wrong;  she  is  a  true-hearted  friend," 
she  urged  zealously. 

"And  a  very  open-handed  enemy." 

"She  but  assumes  enmity  to  try  your  mettle.  You 
men  will  not  understand." 

"Women,  never!"  he  answered  emphatically,  look- 
ing searchingly  at  her.  "Do  you  think  that  the 
Cherubim  and  Seraphim,  with  their  peculiar  advan- 
tages, do?" 

"You  men  were  not  meant  to  understand;  such 
knowledge  were  too  great  for  you,"  she  answered 
with  her  little  mocking  laugh,  and  in  a  moment  she 
had  passed  from  him.  Only  the  fragrance  of  the 
roses  in  her  dress  remained  with  him,  also  a  knowl- 
edge of  her  as  intangible  as  the  perfume  of  flowers. 

Damaris  had  felt  so  much  more  at  ease  with  him 
because  her  engagement  had  removed  her  from  the 
questionable  position  that  she  had  occupied  in  her 
own  eyes.  Self-respect  being  re-established,  danger 
of  being  misunderstood  having  passed,  the  pain  she 
had  suffered  and  which  had  seemed  to  have  become 
a  part  of  herself  was  a  more  endurable  thing,  sepa- 
rated as  it  was  from  mortification.  Grief  is  a  dig- 
nified thing  and  may  be  buried  decently  out  of  sight ; 
mortification  is  an  evil  thing  and  cannot  be  laid — 
even  with  fasting  and  with  prayer  goes  it  not  forth. 


210  The  Carolinians 

Martin  Maynard  stood  looking  after  her,  steady- 
ing himself  against  the  balustrade.  He  was  spent 
with  the  strain  of  the  great  temptation,  and  under 
the  bronze  the  brave  face  was  white.  Surely  never 
stood  a  man  more  hardly  pressed.  He  must  treat 
her  as  the  promised  wife  of  another,  while  the  love 
in  his  own  heart,  justified  by  the  pirate's  story,  the 
concern  for  her  past,  the  desire  to  remove  all  mis- 
understanding from  her  mind  and  obloquy  from 
his  name,  cried  out  strongly  within  him. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

STRENUOUS  DAYS 

"Who   hath    his   life    from    rumors    freed. 
Whose  conscience  is  his  strong  retreat, 
Whose  state  can  neither  flatterers  feed 
Nor  ruin  make  accusers  great." 

— Sir  H.  Wotton. 

For  all  the  sanguine  assurances  of  his  Excellency 
to  her  Ladyship,  his  heart  was  heavy  with  fore- 
bodings of  evil.  He  felt  that  the  victory  over  the 
pirates  was  more  presageful  of  future  complications 
than  fruitful  of  present  relief,  since  what  had  been 
accomplished  against  them  was  but  sufficient  to  incite 
them  to  renewed  depredation  with  the  added  incen- 
tive of  revenge.  The  robbers  of  the  sea  were  the 
more  strongly  banded  in  unholy  alliance  against  the 
defenseless  Colony,  while  England  held  the  hand 
that  might  have  stayed  their  marauding. 

There  was  bitterness  in  the  heart  of  the  Governor. 
The  rectitude  of  his  own  nature  made  him  peculiarly 
sensitive  to  injustice  in  others,  and  his  sense  of 
loyalty  to  the  Board  struggled  with  the  hurt  he  felt 
in  behalf  of  the  neglected  Colony. 

Across  seas  England  made  her  own  quarrels, 
defended  her  own  interests,  unmindful  of  the 
struggling  Colony  that  she  involved  in  her  brawls. 
Carolina  paid  a  heavy  penalty  for  belonging  to 


212  The  Carolinians 

England.  French  privateers  preyed  upon  her  com- 
merce; Spanish  galleons  dropped  down  upon  her 
stores;  Spaniards,  whose  hearts  were  ever  hot 
against  England  for  assuming  their  supremacy  upon 
the  seas,  and  between  whom  and  themselves  was 
ever  cause  of  rancor,  open  or  secret,  who  deemed 
all  injuries  done  to  heretics  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  a 
Romish  God,  who  resented  the  intrusion  of  the 
English  in  lands  claimed  by  themselves,  incited  the 
Indians  from  St.  Augustine  to  horrible  massacres — 
the  frontiers  of  the  Colony  lived  in  constant  danger 
of  tomahawk  and  fire. 

Just  now  the  outlook  for  the  Colony  that  held 
such  possibilities  within  itself  was  particularly 
gloomy.  Its  riches  were  necessarily  agricultural, 
demanding  export,  its  necessities  supplied  with 
imports  of  English  manufacture,  consequently  as 
long  as  the  sea  was  infested  with  keen  robbers  and 
desperate  free-booters,  more  or  less  legalized,  there 
was  small  hope  of  the  Colony's  increasing  welfare. 
And  at  this  trying  juncture,  even  as  the  Governor 
had  apprehended,  almost  immediately  came  the 
disconcerting  information  that  Moody,  a  notorious 
pirate,  was  off  the  bar,  right  stoutly  equipped  with 
a  staunch  ship,  fifty  guns  and  two  hundred  men 
well  bred  in  piracy.  He  had  already  taken  two  ships 
bound  from  England  to  Carolina  and  lay  there  in 
wait  for  other  booty. 

The  court  to  convict  Bonnet  and  his  companions 
had  not  yet  been  convened  by  the  slow  and  cumber- 
some methods  of  justice  allowed  by  England,  though 
the  Act  passed  in  the  Assembly  had  been  designed  to 
hasten  it.  To  keep,  without  a  gaol,  so  many  crim- 


Strenuous  Days  213 

inals  was  a  burdensome  matter,  and  one  that  taxed 
the  community  to  its  utmost. 

When  the  alarming  intelligence  came  to  the  Gov- 
ernor he  arose  in  his  wrath  and  made  a  mighty  re- 
solve, and  in  such  men  the  carrying  power  of  deci- 
sion fails  not  of  its  goal.  Straightway  he  convened 
his  Council,  who  were  resolute  men,  fitted  for  the 
stress  of  circumstance,  but  needing  his  masterful  will 
and  direction. 

The  worthy  Councilors,  in  all  their  bravery  of 
lace  and  French  cloth,  were  promptly  in  their  places, 
their  faces  betokening  their  grave  realization  of  their 
position.  The  Governor  rose  and  greeted  them — 
never  before  had  they  seen  him  so  white  and  reso- 
lute. He  laid  the  situation  before  them  in  strenu- 
ous terms,  his  voice  strong  with  purpose  and  feeling. 

"Gentlemen,  fellow-Councilors,  the  time  for  a  de- 
cision is  upon  us.  The  bonds  are  tightening  about 
us,  the  outlook  is  disastrous,  the  peace  and  pros- 
perity of  the  Colony  are  at  stake.  We  have  none 
but  ourselves  to  look  to  in  this  evil  hour.  We  must 
save  ourselves.  To  our  letter  of  appeal,  addressed 
to  the  most  honorable  Lords  Proprietors,  despatched 
upon  June  the  i8th  of  this  present  year  of  grace, 
no  reply  has  come.  Deaf  as  an  adder  are  they  to 
our  requests,  blind  to  their  own  interests.  Our 
treasury,  as  we  know  to  our  sorrow,  has  been 
emptied  by  frequent  and  expensive  wars  with  the 
Indians  who  harry  our  borders.  The  last  expedi- 
tion, successfully  accomplished  against  the  pirates, 
has  aggravated  our  impoverished  condition.  Where 
the  funds  for  this  present  expedition  are  to  come 


214  The  Carolinians 

from,  who  can  tell?  But  certain  it  is  that  it  must 
be  sent  out  and  that  speedily;  having  once  put  our 
hand  to  the  plow  we  cannot  turn  back.  What  we 
have  begun  we  must  finish  lest  a  greater  misfortune 
befall.  The  pirates  must  be  exterminated  at  all 
costs,  else  there  be  no  future  prosperity  or  present 
safety.  We  must  make  ourselves  to  be  feared  of 
them — it  is  our  only  salvation.  We  must  carve  our 
resistance  upon  their  ships  and  blazon  it  with  their 
blood.  Gentlemen,  will  you  pledge  yourselves  per- 
sonally to  bear  this  expense,  though  the  most  san- 
guine among  you  see  no  speedy  hope  of  reimburse- 
ment? I  myself  give  freely  one  thousand  pounds 
to  start  this  fund.  As  faithful  fellow-citizens  I  ap- 
peal to  you  to-day.  Shall  we  not  stand  shoulder  to 
shoulder  and  accomplish  this  great  and  necessary 
undertaking?  We  play  for  heavy  stakes — for  this 
the  country  of  our  adoption  that  we  have  hewn  out 
of  the  wilderness,  for  the  homes  that  we  have 
builded,  for  our  women,  for  our  sons,  for  all  that 
makes  life  lief  and  dear  to  us!  We  must  pay  of 
our  blood  and  our  gold  would  we  accomplish  this 
thing.  Gentlemen,  are  we  of  one  mind  in  this  Coun- 
cil Chamber?  Shall  free-born  Englishmen  submit 
to  the  tyranny  of  despicable  robbers?  To  the  sea 
and  to  victory !" 

With  the  last  stirring  words  the  Governor  waved 
his  naked  sword  aloft.  Straightway  a  dozen  swords 
flashed  from  their  scabbards  and  clove  keenly  the 
air.  "To  the  sea  and  to  victory!"  they  answered 
to  a  man,  and  a  hoarse  shout  went  up  that  set  the 
armor  on  the  wall  a-rattle  with  its  vibrant  fervor. 


Strenuous  Days  215 

When  the  excitement  of  their  enthusiasm  had  in 
somewhat  subsided,  they  fell  upon  the  consideration 
of  ways  and  means  to  carry  out  their  purpose.  In 
default  of  armed  cruisers  from  England  they  turned 
their  eyes  to  a  score  of  sailing  vessels  that  lay  at 
anchor  awaiting  some  turn  of  fortune  that  would 
justify  them  in  setting  sail. 

Upon  being  approached  in  the  matter  the  cap- 
tains of  said  vessels  claimed  to  have  no  authority 
from  owners  in  England  to  risk  their  property  in 
hazardous  enterprise.  The  Governor  kept  his  own 
council,  but  with  the  assistance  of  one  well  skilled 
in  ship-craft  examined  the  vessels.  After  a  careful 
inspection  the  Mediterranean,  Arthur  Loan,  mas- 
ter ;  the  King  William,  John  Watkinson,  master ; 
the  Sea  Nymph,  Fayrer  Hall,  master,  were  impressed 
for  the  public  service,  and  Bonnet's  famous  old 
Royal  James,  now  held  as  a  prize,  was  also  made 
serviceable  under  the  command  of  John  Masters, 
formerly  master  of  Rhett's  flagship  in  the  Cape  Fear 
expedition.  In  all  they  carried  sixty-eight  guns, 
and  the  Colony  was  most  sanguine  of  success. 

Now  arose  a  new  and  unforeseen  difficulty. 
Colonel  Rhett  was  esteemed  the  best  man  for  the 
command  of  the  expedition,  seeing  that  he  had 
proven  himself  so  capable  and  successful  in  the  last, 
acquiring  for  himself  well-deserved  fame  thereby. 
It  had  happened,  however,  that  through  some  differ- 
ence of  opinion  between  the  Governor  and  himself, 
relative  to  the  recent  expedition,  that  he  had  quar- 
reled with  his  Excellency,  for  with  great  gallantry 
and  commendable  qualities  he  was  also  afflicted  with 


216  The  Carolinians 

a  fiery  and  uncertain  temper,  little  capable  of  brook- 
ing opposition  even  from  those  in  authority. 

The  Governor,  a  large-minded  man,  heart  and 
soul  absorbed  in  his  work,  regardless  of  personal 
differences,  advised  the  selection  of  Colonel  Rhett 
as  commander.  He  was  forthwith  summoned  to  be 
present  at  the  special  meeting  of  the  Council.  Other 
business  in  furtherance  of  the  expedition  having  been 
despatched,  the  Governor  rose. 

"Colonel  Rhett,  since  you  have  richly  deserved 
the  honor  and  gratitude  of  our  people,  we  have 
summoned  you  to-day  to  offer  you  another  oppor- 
tunity in  which  to  distinguish  yourself  in  the  service 
of  your  country.  I  am  empowered  by  these  gen- 
tlemen present,  who  appreciate  your  talents,  as  well 
as  by  the  unanimous  inclination  of  the  people,  to 
tender  to  you  the  command  of  the  serious  expedition 
which  we  are  about  to  undertake  against  our  ancient 
foes  the  pirates,  to  whom  we  bear  no  gentle  will. 
With  the  deepest  confidence  in  your  ability,  highest 
regard  for  your  judgment,  and  warmest  admiration 
for  your  courage,  and  wishing  you  God-speed  and 
a  right  noble  success,  we,  the  assembled  here,  do 
empower  you  to  take  charge  of  the  fleet  with  full 
powers  for  its  conduct  and  maintenance." 

In  the  rear  of  the  room,  behind  the  worthy  Coun- 
cilors, Colonel  Rhett  arose.  He  shook  back  the 
long,  glossy  curls  of  his  full-bottomed  wig,  tossed 
his  scarlet  cloak  over  his  shoulder  and  strode  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  chamber  with  an  air  of  haughty 
unwillingness,  ill-becoming  the  honor  just  paid  him. 
To  the  Governor  bowed  he  first  with  measured  re- 


Strenuous  Days  217 

spect,  then  to  the  Councilors  with  easy  grace,  but 
a  frown  knitted  his  handsome  brow  and  a  smile, 
not  altogether  good  to  look  upon,  curled  the  cor- 
ners of  his  haughty  mouth.  When  he  spoke  his 
voice  was  somewhat  indifferent,  though  of  suffi- 
cient courtesy. 

"To  your  Excellency  Governor  Johnson,  and  to 
the  worthy  members  of  Council  here  assembled,  I 
offer  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  honor  done  me.  I 
am  deeply  sensible  of  your  consideration,  but  with 
due  regard  for  your  Excellency  and  your  worthy 
confreres,  I  must  beg  to  decline  this  honor." 

That  Colonel  Rhett  would  refuse  the  command 
had  never  occurred  to  the  mind  of  one  present ;  his 
words  fell  like  a  thunder-clap  among  them. 

"I  presume  you  have  sufficient  reasons  for  this 
decision,  Colonel  Rhett,  and  that  your  action  is  well 
considered,"  asked  the  Governor,  restraining  but 
hardly  his  anger.  That  a  man  would  carry  a  private 
resentment  into  a  matter  of  public  moment  was  in- 
conceivable to  him. 

"My  reasons  are  sufficient  and  well  considered, 
your  Excellency." 

"Are  they  unalterable?" 

"Absolutely  unalterable." 

"Do  you  well  consider  the  serious  loss  your  deci- 
sion means  to  the  expedition  which  concerns  so 
nearly  our  welfare?" 

"You  flatter  me,  your  Excellency.  There  are 
many  of  equal  ability." 

"Your  experience  has  fitted  you  peculiarly  for  this 
undertaking." 


218  The  Carolinians 

"Occasion  develops  the  man,  your -Excellency." 
"And  a  man  should  rise  to  the  occasion." 
"And  it  pleased  him,"  replied  the  Colonel  laconic- 
ally. 

"A  man  should  be  guided  by  duty,  not  impulse." 
"Nay,   there  I   disagree  with  your  Excellency. 
Many  men,  many  minds.    And  furthermore  I  would 
reserve  the  privilege  ctf  choosing  my  own  duty." 

The  Governor  sat  in  troubled  silence.  A  whisper 
of  disapproval  ran  round  the  room.  Colonel  Rhett, 
upon  whom  they  had  most  confidently  relied,  fail- 
ing them,  they  knew  not  where  to  turn.  The  one 
man  whom  the  Governor  thought  most  fitting  for 
the  position  was  Captain  Maynard,  and  to  him  the 
Council  might  object  upon  the  score  of  his  youth. 
Furthermore,  he  shrank  from  naming  him.  He 
loved  Maynard,  he  remembered  his  recklessness  and 
his  great  distaste  for  life,  brought  about  by  Damaris's 
trifling;  he  felt  that  the  young  man  had  been  suf- 
ficiently injured  by  his  family;  he  should  not  be 
placed  in  the  fore  of  the  fight,  and  he  could  prevent 
it.  Prevent  it  he  would  with  the  only  alternative. 
Meanwhile,  Colonel  Rhett  stood  with  crossed 
arms,  in  indifferent  unconcern  of  the  resentful  looks 
fixed  upon  him  and  of  the  murmur  of  discontent 
around  him. 

"Your  Excellency,  with  your  permission  I  would 
ask  Colonel  Rhett  to  state  some  of  the  unalterable 
reasons  that  deter  him  from  serving  his  country 
in  the  hour  of  need,"  asked  Francis  Yonge  with 
fine  scorn. 


Strenuous  Days  219 

"My  reasons  are  my  own,  and  I  allow  no  man  to 
question  them !"  replied  Colonel  Rhett  haughtily. 

"So  it  seems,  as  is  also  your  patriotism,"  answered 
Francis  Yonge,  with  a  sneer. 

"I  will  be  pleased  to  justify  my  patriotism  to  any 
man  who  dares  question  it!"  replied  Colonel  Rhett 
angrily,  with  hand  on  his  sword.  A  dozen  hands 
sought  sword,  a  dozen  pairs  of  wrathful  eyes  lev- 
elled upon  the  capricious  Colonel. 

"Peace,  gentlemen!"  spoke  the  Governor,  rising 
and  stretching  out  his  hand  with  commanding  dig- 
nity. "Let  there  be  no  dissensions  among  us ;  the 
public  need  calls  for  our  best,  it  is  no  time  for  pri- 
vate bickering.  Colonel  Rhett  stands  within  his 
right  to  refuse  the  office  without  slur  upon  his  pa- 
triotism; his  past  precludes  the  possibility  of  such 
and  his  future  will  disclaim  it.  To  him  I  will  but 
say,  in  all  courtesy,  that  I  hope  that  he  is  acting 
wisely  and  from  motives  worthy  of  his  character 
and  reputation,  and  I  would  ask  him  again  if  his 
position  is  final?"  He  looked  searchingly  at  the 
Colonel,  and  the  two  measured  each  other  in  potent 
silence.  Then  the  reckless  brown  eyes  fell  before 
the  keen  glance  of  the  clear  grey  ones,  but  there  was 
no  sign  of  weakening  in  the  handsome  patrician 
face. 

There  was  a  muttering  of  discontent  among  the 
disgruntled  Councilors,  but  no  open  break.  Francis 
Yonge  took  snuff  violently,  showering  it  liberally 
upon  his  flowered  waistcoat;  Jonathan  Skrine  folded 
his  short,  fat  arms  a  little  lower  than  his  breast, 
while  Benj.  de  La  Conseillere  polished  the  hilt  of 


220  The  Carolinians 

his  sword  with  the  cuff  of  his  gauntlet.  Finally 
Colonel  Rhett  spoke  in  cool,  incisive  tones : 

"I  thank  your  Excellency  for  your  courtesy,  since, 
as  the  matter  now  stands,  it  lies  between  us  two. 
With  those  others,  and  it  please  me,  I  might  reckon 
differently."  He  waved  his  hand  scornfully  toward 
the  indignant  Council.  "And  I  beg  to  repeat  to 
your  Excellency  that  my  decision  is  final." 

"I  accept  your  decision,  Colonel  Rhett,"  answered 
the  Governor  with  dignity.  "You  may  retire  to 
your  seat.  Now,  gentlemen,"  he  asked,  turning 
gravely  to  his  confreres,  "is  there  one  among  you 
who  could  relieve  this  present  vexed  situation  by 
suggesting  a  leader  for  our  expedition  ?" 

There  was  a  troubled  shaking  of  heads,  but  no 
reply. 

"Then,  gentlemen,  as  the  matter  now  stands,  and 
with  your  fair  agreement,  though  my  offer  fail  some- 
what in  modesty,  I  will  undertake  the  command  of 
this  expedition." 

"Not  so,  your  Excellency;  you  are  too  generous. 
It  is  no  work  for  you !"  cried  Francis  Yonge. 

"Your  hands  are  over-full  at  home !"  cried  one. 

"Heaven  be  praised  for  such  a  Governor !"  spoke 
another. 

"You  are  a  worthy  son  of  our  great  Sir  Na- 
thaniel !" 

"Your  Excellency  cannot  be  spared  from  this  dif- 
ficult administration !"  cried  another,  and  so  the 
eager,  admiring  protest  ran  on  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  full-voiced  and  hearty. 


Strenuous  Days  221 

Meanwhile,  the  Governor  stood  a  silent  and  im- 
movable figure  in  his  grey  suit  with  its  silver  facings, 
his  resolute  face  strongly  silhouetted  against  the 
saffron  light  of  the  October  sunset  that  mellowed 
itself  in  the  mullioned  panes  behind  him.  The  pur- 
pose never  faded  from  the  determined  eyes,  but  a 
smile  unbent  his  lips  somewhat  as  he  caught  the  dis- 
concerted glance  of  Colonel  Rhett,  in  whose  soul, 
for  all  his  reckless  pride,  it  rankled  that  the  Gov- 
ernor should  prove  him  a  smaller  man. 

When  the  storm  of  protest  and  enthusiastic  ad- 
miration had  passed,  Governor  Johnson  spoke 
quietly  and  pertinently: 

"Gentlemen,  I  dare  affirm  that  you  will  come  to 
see  the  wisdom  of  my  suggestion.  Some  small  ex- 
perience have  I  enjoyed  that  may  be  serviceable  to 
us.  Every  expression  of  your  confidence  but 
strengthens  my  resolution.  I  pledge  myself  right 
strenuously  to  carry  out  the  purposes  we  have 
planned  together,  and  may  God  grant  us  a  speedy 
and  successful  finish,  seeing  that  we  enjoy  peace 
neither  at  home  nor  abroad  for  these  mischievous 
villains.  And  now,  and  it  please  you,  we  will  ad- 
journ this  present  meeting  until  further  necessity 
require." 

The  Governor  took  up  his  hat  and  walked  quietly 
from  the  room.  The  men  bowed  their  heads  as  he 
passed.  When  he  crossed  the  threshold  they  sent 
up  a  cheer,  which  was  speedily  taken  up  by  those 
in  the  street,  who  quickly  came  to  know  what  had 
occurred,  while  the  Governor  tarried  some  moments 
in  his  private  office. 


222  The  Carolinians 

As  he  drove  quickly  through  the  streets  the  eager 
crowd  ran  after  the  lumbering  coach  with  its  goodly 
quarterings,  brought  by  Sir  Nathaniel  from  Eng- 
land, and  cheer  followed  cheer  as  the  Governor,  with 
bared  head,  bowed  and  smiled  quite  grandly,  while 
his  heart  ached  for  his  daughter  to  whom  he  car- 
ried such  grievous  tidings. 


CHAPTER  XX 


STRESS 

"O  never  say  that  I  was  false  of  heart, 
Though   absence  seemed  my  flame  to  qualify. 
As  easy  might  I  from  myself  depart 
As  from  my  soul,  which  is  thy  heart." 

-Hamlet. 

"Assure  you  my  good  liege, 
I  hold  my  duty  as  I  hold  my  soul." 

—Hamlet. 

For  the  past  six  months  Damaris  had  been  com- 
ing to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  woman  who  was 
born  to  trouble,  as  the  sparks  fly  upward.  Had 
she  been  given  to  tears  the  lustrous  light  might  long 
since  have  been  quenched  in  the  clear  grey  eyes. 
Had  she  been  given  to  confidences  she  would  have 
poured  her  dolorous  story  into  the  ears  of  her  gos- 
sip until  the  day-star  arose.  As  it  was,  her  physical 
constitution  was  against  tears,  as  was  also  her  men- 
tal. As  for  gossip,  she  had  none;  friendly  with 
many,  she  was  intimate  with  none.  Her  father  had 
been  her  chief  friend,  his  companions  her  associates, 
until  her  blooming  womanhood  had  attracted  to  her- 
self its  coterie  of  gallants.  The  Governor  had  ever 
discouraged  special  intimacies  with  girl  companions ; 
such  he  considered  the  hot-bed  of  sentimentality. 
Lady  Kildare  he  tolerated  because  he  deemed  the 
girl's  wholesome  sweetness  could  not  be  hurt  by  the 


224  The  Carolinians 

older  woman's  clever  cynicism,  and  in  somewhat  she 
would  serve  as  an  antidote  to  the  superabundant 
emotions  of  youth.  Instead  of  seeking  the  allevia- 
tions to  be  found  in  the  sympathetic  understanding 
of  another,  her  troubles  grew  big  in  her  own  heart, 
until  the  gradual  adjustment  of  time  fitted  them  to 
her  endurance. 

When  her  father  told  her  that  he  would  speedily 
take  the  command  of  the  expedition  she  seemed 
crushed,  and  during  the  time  that  elapsed  before 
the  sailing  went  about  as  in  a  troubled  dream,  with 
the  look  of  a  sleep-walker  in  her  eyes. 

During  the  stirring  days  that  intervened,  Captain 
Maynard,  who  had  been  an  enthusiastic  volunteer, 
came  frequently  to  the  Governor's  house  on  business 
connected  with  the  expedition.  Damaris  clung  to 
her  father,  haunted  his  study  and  was  allowed  to 
busy  herself  with'  various  matters,  and  thus  it 
chanced  that  she  and  Captain  Maynard  were  con- 
stantly together,  Mr.  Yonge  being  detained  else- 
where upon  business. 

Unconsciously  they  fell  back  somewhat  upon  the 
old  footing;  the  trouble,  together  with  the  mutual 
interests  of  the  past  few  days,  seemed  to  have  blotted 
out  the  intervening  episodes. 

The  expedition  was  delayed  several  days  on  ac- 
count of  claims  made  by  masters  of  impressed  ves- 
sels, which  claims  the  Governor  adjudged  to  be  rea- 
sonable, whereupon  an  extra  session  of  the  Assem- 
bly was  convened  wherein  they  voted  for  a  measure 
to  secure  ship-owners  against  all  losses. 


Stress  225 

Upon  the  25th  of  October,  while  the  town  was 
busied  within  over  its  preparations  and  busied  with- 
out in  patrolling  the  coast,  Bonnet  and  Heriot  man- 
aged to  escape,  through  the  assistance  of  secret 
friends.  This  created  a  vast  tumult  and  disturb- 
ance throughout  the  Province.  Even  the  Governor 
and  his  officials  were  censured  for  negligence — con- 
nivance, some  mischievous  persons  dared  suggest. 
Whereupon  the  Governor  promptly  and  wrath  fully 
offered  a  reward  of  £700  for  Bonnet,  sending  out 
speedily  trusty  parties  to  scour  the  coast  and  its  in- 
lets. 

Colonel  Rhett,  somewhat  regretful  for  past  con-, 
duct  perhaps,  readily  undertook  to  find  Bonnet,  and 
was  entrusted  with  the  largest  party. 

Meanwhile,  the  court  met  upon  October  28th, 
Nicholas  Trott,  Judge  of  Vice  Admiralty  and  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Province,  presiding  over  the  trial  of 
Bonnet's  crew. 

It  was  the  third  of  November,  the  afternoon  be- 
fore the  final  sailing  of  the  fleet.  Everything  was 
in  readiness,  the  assuming  of  the  command  by  his 
Excellency  having  inspired  the  people  with  great 
confidence  and  enthusiasm,  so  that  the  full  quota  of 
volunteers  was  speedily  obtained  and  all  prepara- 
tions completed  with  hearty  co-operation. 

Damaris  and  Captain  Maynard  had  been  busily 
copying  some  plans  and  charts  under  the  Governor's 
supervision.  Mr.  Yonge  had  looked  in  several  times 
and  essayed  conversation,  but  finding  the  copyists 
much  engrossed,  had  laughed  good-naturedly  and 
taken  leave. 


226  The  Carolinians 

The  last  sheet  was  finished  and  tied  up.  Damaris 
had  dropped  the  wax  upon  an  official  document  for 
England  and  Captain  Maynard  had  carefully  affixed 
the  Governor's  seal  thereto.  She  still  held  in  her 
hand  the  smoking  wax,  while  the  heavy  drops  fell 
unheeded  upon  a  litter  of  papers. 

Captain  Maynard,  looking  up  from  sorting  his 
documents,  saw  the  heedless  action,  and  looked  from 
it  to  the  tired,  white  face.  He  tied  his  portfolio  into 
a  hard  knot  and  rose. 

"Come  into  the  garden,  won't  you?  It  has  been 
a  hard  day  and  it  is  warm  within." 

"Yes,"  she  answered  wearily,  pushing  her  hair 
back  from  her  face,  "it  is  very  warm,  so  unlike 
November;  it  is  really  sultry." 

"I  think  that  it  is  going  to  storm,"  he  answered, 
looking  seawards,  while  Damaris  repaired  the  mis- 
chief she  had  wrought. 

"Are  you  coming  with  me?" 

"Yes,  'tis  stifling  here,"  she  answered  listlessly, 
and  they  passed  into  the  garden. 

It  was  long  since  they  had  stood  there  together 
under  the  magnolias.  The  promise  of  spring  and 
the  fullness  of  summer  had  gone,  in  their  place  a 
regretful  November.  Perhaps  thoughts  came  to 
each,  but  we  seldom  speak  our  thoughts  when  they 
come  from  the  heart;  in  most  human  intercourse 
imitation  thought  passes  as  current  coin.  Listlessly 
they  spoke  of  things  indifferent,  of  anything  rather 
than  of  to-morrow's  farewells. 

A  storm  was  coming;  the  air  lay  as  in  a  stifled 
trance  about  them;  above  them  gloomed  the  pallid 


Stress  227 

skies,  death-marked  with  purpling  blotches  that 
gathered  into  the  livid  blackness  of  storm  drifts. 
There  lay  a  greenish  pallor  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters ;  in  leafage  and  herbage  there  was  the  thrilled 
hush  of  life;  the  lightning  that  shivered  and  flick- 
ered through  the  ragged  clouds  held  the  wan,  blue 
light  of  corpse-fires ;  everywhere  the  tenseness  of 
Nature's  stress  tightened  about  them. 

The  girl  watched  the  sharp-angled  flashes  riving 
the  clouds,  the  man  watched  the  unconscious  face 
that  showed  so  white  in  the  breathless  air.  Perhaps 
for  the  last  time  he  looked  upon  that  face,  and  an 
almost  overmastering  impulse  rose  within  him  to 
cleanse  his  name  from  the  blackness  with  which  it 
was  smirched  in  her  sight.  She  was  betrothed  to 
another.  Surely  the  message  sent  by  the  pirate 
could  mean  nothing  to  her  now.  It  had  not  been 
love,  but  remorseful  regret  that  had  prompted  the 
sending  thereof.  To  be  re-established  in  her  eyes 
meant  much  to  him;  the  more  should  he  lose  life  in 
this  present  adventure.  Not  to  be  loved  by  a  wo- 
man is  often  a  man's  portion ;  he  must  bear  it  as  he 
does  other  reverses  in  life  against  which  there  is  no 
appeal ;  but  to  be  despised,  and  that  unjustly ;  to  be 
silent  when  self-love  urges  him  to  speak,  but  honor 
silences  him,  that  is  more  than  a  man's  portion,  it 
savors  of  the  strength  of  archangels. 

"You  won't  let  father  run  into  danger,  will  you  ?" 
she  asked  suddenly. 

"Oh,  certainly  not;  the  Governor  is  easily  con- 
trolled and  fighting  pirates  is  an  innocent  pastime !" 
he  answered  ironically.  The  world  had  hit  him 


228  The  Carolinians 

full  in  the  face;  smarting  under  the  succession  of 
blows  and  blinded  by  pain,  he  felt  that  he  must  hurt 
something,  and  struck  out  wildly. 

"I  do  not  mean  that,"  she  replied,  flushing.  "You 
are  cruel  to  me ;  you  have  always  been  so !" 

"I  am  a  brute,  a  brute !  I  apologize  humbly.  It 
must  be  the  electricity  in  the  air  that  unbalances  me. 
But  in  the  past  I  might  suggest  that  the  cruelty  has 
been  upon  the  other  side." 

"I  have  never  hurt  you  willingly  in  my  life !" 

"Then  are  you  past-mistress  in  unconscious  war- 
fare." 

"The  worst  hurt  that  I  ever  received  was  one  that 
no  gentleman  would  have  given !"  she  spoke  reck- 
lessly and  her  eyes  were  hard  and  defiant.  Perhaps 
it  was  the  electricity  that  had  disturbed  her  equili- 
brium too. 

"So  it  was  a  woman !  They  are  as  heaven  and 
hell,  the  best  or  the  worst." 

"Not  so;  no  woman,  but  a  man,  and  one  who 
had  professed  to  love  me !"  She  was  looking  straight 
at  him  now,  and  there  was  no  mistaking  the  mean- 
ing in  her  blazing  eyes. 

"Great  God,  Damans!"  he  groaned,  and  buried 
his  face  in  his  arms  upon  the  back  of  the  bench. 

She  stood  before  him  quivering  with  excitement, 
her  eyes  burning,  the  blue  flashes  of  the  lightning 
playing  about  her,  the  moan  of  the  pent  force  in  the 
thunderous  clouds  the  only  sound  in  that  world  of 
stress.  Society  and  its  conventions  had  fallen  from 
her,  she  had  returned  to  the  integrity  of  elemental 


Stress  229 

conditions,  loosed  from  all  the  artificialities  of  life 
by  the  sinister  spell  of  the  storm. 

"What  can  you  say  for  yourself?"  she  demanded 
passionately. 

"I — nothing!"  he  answered  hoarsely  as  he  lifted 
his  haggard  eyes  to  her  face,  full  of  an  appeal  that 
she  scorned. 

"So  thought  I !  Cowards  are  ever  silenced  when 
confronted  with  their  deeds!" 

He  sprang  to  his  feet,  stung  by  the  taunt.  He 
held  out  his  arms  as  though  to  ward  off  a  blow. 

"Don't,  Damaris;  don't!"  he  groaned.  "You  do 
not  know !" 

"Had  you  ever  loved  me  even  for  one  brief  day 
you  could  not  have  done  it!"  she  cried  bitterly. 

He  stood  with  bowed  head  in  silence  before  her. 

"And  now  you  are  going  off,  to  your  death  per- 
haps, and  I  would  like  to  forgive  you.  I  could  never 
be  happy  if  I  do  not.  No  matter  what  might  come 
to  me,  I  would  always  be  haunted  by  your  face, 
would  see  it  always,  rising  and  falling  upon  a  dread- 
ful sea,  all  running  with  blood !"  She  ended  with  a 
stifled  sob  and  wringing  her  hands. 

Her  strange  excitement  and  her  miserable  eyes 
frightened  him.  He  stood,  with  clenched  hands, 
collecting  himself  for  a  mighty  effort.  Was  the 
Devil  tempting  him?  Was  it  a  ruse  to  unman  his 
honor  ?  Must  he  do  for  her  what  he  would  not  do 
for  himself? 

"Would  it  really  make  you  happier  could  you 
forgive  me,  Damaris?"  he  spoke  at  last. 


230  The  Carolinians 

"I  could  never  be  happy  and  I  did  not.  But  I 
cannot  forgive  you,  cannot,  cannot!  I  will  always 
see  your  face  rising  and  falling,  rising  and  falling 
on  waves  all  of  blood !" 

"Women  have  forgiven  men  worse  sins  than  this, 
Damaris.  Could  you  not  find  it  in  your  heart  to 
forgive  me  ?  Think  of  the  parting  to-morrow ;  we 
go  forth  upon  the  threshold  of  eternity,  as  it  were. 
Could  you  not  think  of  me  as  of  one  done  with  life 
and  forgive  me  ?  Forgive  me  not  because  I  deserve 
it  of  you,  but  because  you  are  a  woman,  and  women's 
lives  are  made  up  of  forgiving  men.  Because  we 
were  such  good  friends  long  ago !"  he  pleaded  des- 
perately. 

"Such  disloyalty  I  could  never  forgive !  The  re- 
membrance of  it  will  taint  my  whole  life  with  its 
poison !"  she  cried  wildly.  "And  yet  your  dead  face 
will  reproach  me  always.  There  is  no  help  for  me. 
Until  eternity  the  sight  of  your  face  rising  and  fall- 
ing on  the  waves,  your  face  blood-stained  and  wind- 
tossed  will  be  my  curse,  for  there  is  no  rest  for  the 
the  un forgiven  nor  unforgiving." 

He  laid  his  hand  upon  her  shoulder  and  forced 
her  down  upon  the  bench. 

"Sit  down,"  he  whispered.  There  was  something 
so  unnatural  in  her  passion  that  it  awed  him.  "Rest 
while  I  talk.  You  are  so  tired  and  I  would  tell  you 
something  not  soon  ended." 

She  fell  back  in  docile  quiet,  spent  physically  and 
mentally  by  her  outburst,  and  he  began  calmly  to 
say  for  her  sake  what  he  had  rather  died  than  have 
said  for  his  own,  howsoever  great  the  temptation. 


Stress  231 

"You  remember  when  I  went  with  Colonel  Rhett 
to  Cape  Fear  River,  'tis  not  so  long  since.  When  we 
came  upon  the  pirates  lying  there  and  forced  them 
to  surrender  I  was  put  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
prizes.  While  getting  her  into  shape  for  sailing,  a 
pirate  whom  I  thought  dead  heard  my  name  called 
and  beckoned  me  to  him.  When  I  bent  over  him 
and  would  have  eased  him  somewhat,  seeing  that 
he  was  nigh  to  God's  judgment,  he  told  me  that  he 
had  been  one  of  the  party  sent  up  to  the  town  by 
Black  Beard  and  that  he  had  promised  you  to  bring 
to  me  a  message  of  forgiveness.  This  message  he 
had  been  prevented  from  giving,  seeing  that  he  re- 
turned drunken  to  his  vessel,  was  tumbled  into  the 
hold,  and  when  he  came  again  to  his  senses  our 
vessel  had  been  released,  captives  freed  and  sailed 
away.  Dying,  he  roused  himself  when  he  heard  my 
name,  and  with  the  last  spark  of  flickering  vital- 
ity begged  me  to  tell  you  that  he  had  been  true  to 
his  word.  When  I  returned  home  you  were  be- 
trothed to  Mr.  Yonge.  Can  you  forgive  me  now 
and  be  happy?" 

"Why  did  you  not  tell  me  when  you  came  again !" 
she  cried  quickly,  springing  to  her  feet  and  standing 
before  him  with  transfigured  face. 

"It  was  too  late !"  he  answered  brokenly.  "You 
were  bound  to  another." 

"True ;  I  seemed  to  have  forgotten,"  she  answered 
faintly. 

"Is  it  too  late  after  all,  Damaris?"  he  asked 
hoarsely.  What  he  had  seen  in  the  girl's  face  had 


232  The  Carolinians 

undone  him.  "If  you  can  forget,  you  cannot  really 
care  for  that  other,"  he  pleaded  passionately. 

She  lifted  her  head  and  drew  a  deep  breath  and 
looked  steadily  into  the  pleading  eyes. 

"You  forget  that  I  have  given  my  word." 

"If  you  have  not  given  your  heart  with  your 
word,  it  were  better  to  break  it !"  he  urged  desper- 
ately. 

"I  would  rather  break  my  heart  than  my  word !" 
she  answered,  almost  with  a  sob. 

"Poor,  brave  little  soul.    God  pity  us  both !" 

"So  be  it,"  she  whispered ;  "and  keep  you  safe  unto 
the  end!" 

"Grant  it  be  a  speedy  one !"  he  added  devoutly. 

She  gave  a  cry  of  pain,  reached  out  her  arms  and 
started  toward  him,  but  there  came  instantaneously 
a  crash  so  tremendous  that  it  seemed  to  shiver  the 
earth  about  them.  Nature,  defying  law,  was  loosed 
upon  the  world.  She  sprang  away  from  him,  and  a 
long  flash  of  lightning  gleamed  like  a  fiery  sword 
between  them. 

"The  storm  is  upon  us !"  She  spoke  with  sudden 
calm,  but  moved  not. 

With  a  quick  realization  of  danger  he  seized  her 
hand  and  dragged  her  away  from  the  spot  to  which 
she  seemed  rooted.  Above  them  the  branches  writh- 
ed and  lapped  in  sudden  fierce  gusts,  the  last  leaves 
of  summer  whirled  about  them,  the  first  great  rain 
drops  hissed  like  bullets  as  they  flattened  them- 
selves against  the  hot  earth „ 

When  the  two  flying  figures  were  well  out  of 
sight,  Mr.  Yonge  stepped  out  from  the  shrubbery. 


Stress  233 

He  had  been  an  eavesdropper,  and  like  most  eaves- 
droppers had  heard  nothing  to  his  advantage. 

He  had  not  been  a  premeditated  listener.  When 
he  had  been  ignored  by  the  engrossed  workers  he 
had  betaken  himself  to  the  garden,  thinking  that 
Damaris  might  come  out  later,  as  was  her  wont. 
Damaris  had  hung  a  hammock  there  against  a  huge 
hedge  of  Cherokee  roses,  whose  sturdy  arms  reached 
high  into  the  branches  above,  forming  a  complete 
covert.  There  he  had  stretched  himself  to  shorten 
the  time  of  waiting  by  busying  himself  with  idle- 
ness. 

On  a  neighboring  bough  a  mocking-bird  was  re- 
galing himself  with  the  ruby,  vinous  seeds  of  a  pome- 
granate and  singing  short  grace  notes  between  his 
cups.  Mr.  Yonge  lay  there  wondering  how  many 
stones  he  would  have  to  throw  to  hit  him,  and  be- 
fore he  had  quite  made  the  requisite  number  of  im- 
aginary trials  he  was  lost  to  the  world  and  its  ennuis. 

When  he  waked,  or  rather  when  the  two  familiar 
voices  first  reached  him,  he  was  not  fully  awake, 
and  straightway  they  wore  themselves  into  the  gro- 
tesqueness  of  a  dream. 

A  ship  was  sailing  the  Southern  seas,  she  crossed 
the  line  of  the  equator.  A  torrid  world  was  about 
her,  sky  and  sea  and  air  seemed  molten  fire.  He, 
Francis  Yonge,  a  sea-god,  was  the  fantastic  wooden 
figurehead  of  the  ship,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun 
shrivelled  his  eyes  and  peeled  the  paint  from  his 
vermillion  cheeks.  Close  to  the  prow,  where  he  was 
fast  nailed  with  spikes  of  fire,  stood  Damaris  and 
Maynard;  he  heard  all  they  said,  and  it  seemed 


234  The  Carolinians 

strange  that  he,  a  wooden  sea-god,  should  listen. 
Then  suddenly,  with  wide-open  eyes  and  quivering 
limbs,  he  lay  full  awake  in  the  hammock,  and  in- 
stead of  being  nailed  upon  the  prow  of  a  ship  he 
was  nailed  upon  a  rack  of  torture. 

What  should  he  do?  Having  heard  so  much 
'twere  better  to  hear  to  the  end  and  not  discover 
himself.  To  let  them  know  that  he  had  heard 
would  but  have  aggravated  matters.  Now  he  stood, 
burning  with  anger  and  shame  and  pain.  Despite 
himself  something  of  admiration  mingled  with  his 
wrath  against  Maynard.  With  his  anger  against 
Damaris,  a  sudden  and  increased  respect  and  love. 

"By  heaven,  this  is  a  pretty  affair !  A  most  damn- 
able complication!  The  foul  fiend  fly  away  with 
him !"  he  raged. 

He  stood  digging  his  heels  into  the  earth,  then 
he  drew  out  his  box  and  took  a  pinch  of  snuff  re- 
gardless of  the  storm  that  howled  about  him.  The 
rain  that  had  begun  by  spotting  his  fawn-colored 
vest  into  the  semblance  of  a  leopard  skin,  turned  it 
into  one  tawny  coat.  His  ruffles  hung  limp  and  for- 
lorn ;  he  picked  up  his  hat  with  its  draggled  plumes 
and  set  it  jauntily  upon  his  dripping  locks. 

"  'Tis  the  hazard  of  love,  he  lost  and  I  won.  By 
the  Lord  Harry,  I  will  hold  what  I  have  won,  so 
help  me  heaven  or  hell !"  he  cried  grimly.  "I  really 
believe  that  it  is  going  to  rain,"  he  added  with  a 
smile,  and  strolled  leisurely  toward  the  gate.  "There 
would  have  been  no  use  for  the  Devil  had  women 
not  first  been  turned  loose  upon  the  earth.  Damme, 


Stress  235 

what  do  I  care  for  a  woman's  vagaries;  she  has 
promised  to  marry  me  and  will  keep  her  word. 
Apies  cela  le  deluge.  Marry,  it  seems  to  have  come 
already !" 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THICKENING  CLOUDS 

"For  God  doth  know  how  many  now  in  health 
Shall  drop  their  blood  in  approbation 
Of  what  your  reverence  shall  invite  us  to." 

— King  Henry  V. 

The  memorable  November  of  1718  brought  days 
fraught  with  excitement  and  peril  to  the  Colony, 
which  lay  open  to  that  high- way  of  rogues,  the  free- 
booting  sea.  Event  followed  event  with  such  rap- 
idity, and  so  absorbed  were  the  colonists  in  the 
public  weal  that  few  had  time  for  the  indulgence  of 
private  woe. 

Late  on  the  afternoon  of  November  the  4th,  clad 
in  his  armor  for  the  first  time  upon  American  soil, 
amidst  the  plaudits  of  the  people,  the  Governor 
stepped  aboard  his  flagship,  the  Mediterranean. 
Following  him  closely  was  Captain  Maynard,  who 
took  command  of  the  Revenge,  which  was  the  old 
Royal  James  of  piratical  fame,  captured  by  Rhett 
and  himself  in  Cape  Fear  River. 

Standing  bare-headed  upon  the  prow,  the  fair 
folds  of  the  flag  of  His  Majesty  streaming  above 
him,  the  golden  light  of  afternoon  falling  upon  his 
noble  face  and  shining  harness,  the  Governor  gave 
the  signal  for  departure.  Forthwith  a  mighty  cheer 
went  up,  anchors  were  raised,  canvas  bellied  upon 


Thickening  Clouds  237 

the  freshening  breeze,  and  sped  with  the  prayers 
and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  the  fleet  dropped 
out  with  the  tide  to  Fort  Johnson,  where  the  Gov- 
ernor purposed  to  anchor  for  the  night. 

Vivid  as  a  cardinal-bird  in  her  crimson  paduasoy, 
Damaris  stood  on  the  wharf  bracing  herself  against 
a  palmetto  post,  and  far  out  to  sea  the  last  glimpse 
caught  by  two  pairs  of  straining  eyes  was  that  gleam 
of  red  in  the  blending  greys. 

Cheer  upon  cheer  rent  the  air  around  her;  in  its 
enthusiasm  the  crowd  surged  against  her,  pressing 
and  drifting  from  side  to  side,  for  well-nigh  all  the 
Province  was  there.  Hearts  beat  high  and  voices 
were  loud  in  praise  of  the  doughty  Governor,  in 
whom  they  felt  their  trust  well  placed,  and  who, 
more  wisely  than  another,  would  lead  this  expedi- 
tion of  such  weighty  consequence  to  their  welfare. 

"It  is  time  to  go  home,  Mistress  Damaris,"  said 
some  one  softly. 

Mr.  Yonge  had  been  standing  long  unnoticed  be- 
side her.  Patiently  he  had  waited  until  the  rim  of 
the  sun  had  slipped  out  of  the  primrose  sky  behind 
the  dim  woodlands  beyond,  till  the  tropical  dusk  had 
passed  like  a  heavy  grey-winged  bird  over  them, 
and  now  the  unharvested  fruit  of  the  sky  hung  its 
starry  clusters  in  the  blue-black  night. 

Damaris  turned  and  looked  upon  him  with  eyes 
that  seemed  to  have  come  from  a  death-watch,  eyes 
to  which  his  face  was  as  that  of  a  stranger;  then, 
with  a  long  sigh  and  without  a  word,  she  slipped 
her  hand  into  his  arm. 


238  The  Carolinians 

The  crowd  had  scattered ;  a  few  straggling  groups 
loitered  about  the  water-side.  Even  in  the  dark- 
ness they  recognized  the  Governor's  daughter,  and 
saluted  her  deferentially.  Sergeant  McLeod  was 
standing  beside  the  coach,  where  the  English  horses 
pawed  impatiently.  He  opened  the  door  and  Da- 
maris  entered  silently,  Mr.  Yonge  following;  then, 
trailing  his  bonnet  in  the  dust,  the  Sergeant  spoke : 

"Her  Leddyship,  Mistress  Kildare,  was  making 
sair  havers  over  your  Leddysh'ip's  tarrying,  and  it's 
myself  as  would  be  saying  a  murrain  upon  all  sich 
unsonsy  bodies,  if  it  was  myself  as  suld  be  wanting 
in  respect  for  the  leddies  of  quality,  which  God  for- 
bid! She  was  saying  she  could  nae  tarry  sae  long 
for  your  Leddyship,  since  she  was  like  to  catch  a  me- 
grim from  the  sea  damps.  She  would  say  to  your 
Leddyship  as  how  she  was  expecting  to  have  you 
bide  with  her  till  his  Excellency  comes  hame  and 
will  hear  no  clavers  contrairiwise,  seeing  as  she  is 
set  clean  upon  it." 

"Go  to  her,  Mistress  Damaris,  I  prithee,"  urged 
Francis  Yonge. 

"No,"  said  Damaris,  shaking  her  head  decidedly, 
"I  want  to  be  alone.  Father  said  that  I  might  do 
as  I  pleased.  He  left  Sergeant  McLeod  in  charge, 
and  all  will  be  well." 

The  grizzled  Scot  trailed  his  bonnet  yet  lower  in 
the  dust  and  stood  to  attention  like  a  grenadier. 

"And  who  suld  be  doing  as  she  pleases,  if  not 
the  young  Mistress,  Mr.  Yonge?"  asked  the  Ser- 
geant reprovingly;  then  turning  to  Damaris,  he 
spoke  calmly :  "And  your  Leddyship  shall  do  as  she 


Thickening  Clouds  239 

pleases  as  long  as  this  chiel  of  the  clan  McLeod 
has  the  arm  of  a  man  and  a  good  broad  blade.  It's 
a  bawbie  my  life  is,  my  bonny  Leddy,  but  the  baw- 
bie  is  yours  to  the  death.  And  dinna  ye  greet  for 
the  absent;  as  sure  as  the  tide  turns  will  they  come 
hame,  and  that  in  the  cooling  of  a  bowl  o'  parritch. 
and  a  chancey  gang  of  reiving  villains  will  they  be 
bringing  in  airn  garters,  and  string  them  up  we  will 
like  onions  on  the  rafters ;  and  it's  the  Governor  him- 
self will  be  standing  by  to  say  amen  when  their 
souls  go  to  hell,  God  helping!" 

"Thank  you,  Sergeant,"  she  answered,  reaching 
out  her  hand  to  him,  and  he  touched  it  as  he  might 
have  done  the  wings  of  the  cherubim.  I  will  trust 
you  whatever  betide." 

"It's  a  puir  hieland  chiel  I  am,  and  its  muckle 
honor  your  Leddyship  does  to  the  clan  o'  McLeod," 
he  answered  warmly,  then  he  clambered  upon  the 
box.  "Gie  the  beasties  their  head,  Carson,"  he  or- 
dered, and  the  moment  after  they  were  lurching 
along  through  the  narrow,  ill-lighted  streets  that 
led  from  the  wharf.  In  the  darkness  and  silence  of 
the  lumbering  coach  Mr.  Yonge  covered  with  his 
own  the  cold  little  hand  that  lay  so  slackly  upon 
the  knee  of  the  girl.  She  did  not  resist,  but  began 
straightway  to  talk  of  indifferent  things,  for  she 
had  reached  that  point  where  sympathy  was  pain; 
furthermore,  the  consciousness  of  herself  shamed 
her  and  flamed  at  his  voice  and  his  touch.  The 
glooming  wall  of  the  indeterminate  future  was  sud- 
denly cloven  asunder,  and  through  the  widening 
cleft  she  saw  herself  as  she  would  be,  fighting  back 


240  The  Carolinians 

the  thing  that  was  herself,  living  a  life  that  was 
a  lie. 

Reaching  in  silence  the  Governor's  gate,  Mr. 
Yonge  helped  Damaris  out.  Turning  to  him  she 
said  wearily,  with  a  wan  little  smile : 

"I  would  indeed  be  sorry  company  for  any  one 
this  evening.  Prithee,  leave  me  to  my  own  dull 
thoughts  and  seek  elsewhere  merrier  company." 

"By  my  faith,  I  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Do 
you  take  me  for  a  motley  with  cap  and  bells?"  he 
answered  indignantly. 

"It  were  kinder,"  she  pleaded,  and  something  in 
her  face  convinced  him  against  his  hot  humor. 

"A  most  wilful  woman,  certie,"  he  replied,  re- 
garding her  with  a  perplexed  smile.  "This  once  will 
I  give  you  your  way,  seeing  that  you  will  have  it 
at  any  cost,"  he  laughed  somewhat  unmerrily. 
"Good-night,  sweetheart ;  bon  voyage  to  the  land  of 
dreams.  May  mine  be  your  waking  star." 

"Fool,  fool,  fool !"  he  was  saying  to  himself  as  he 
walked  jauntily  away.  "Milksop  to  be  put  off  with 
her  hand  when  she  is  my  promised  wife.  White- 
blooded,  soft-headed,  puritanical — pshaw !  I  taste 
the  psalm  singing !  Zounds !  I  believe  I  am  a  wo- 
man myself — and  such  adorable  lips,  fresh  and  un- 
tasted!  And  yet,"  he  said,  stretching  out  his  arm 
and  bending  it  slowly  backward,  "there  is  good  red 
blood  in  that  arm,  and  never  before  fell  it  back  at 
a  woman's  word;  and  I  am  not  just  winning  my 
spurs  either,  I  am  rather  a  scarred  veteran  in  af- 
fairs of  arms.  I  was  ever  fancy's  fool!"  he  ended, 
tapping  his  forehead  with  a  grim  smile;  then  an 


Thickening  Clouds  241 

ugly  frown  deepened  upon  the  handsome  brow  of 
Francis  Yonge,  and  thoughts  not  pleasant  came  to 
him.  "Whether  she  loves  me  or  loves  me  not,  I  will 
hold  her  to  her  word,  and  she  will  not  break  it,  come 
what  may — she  is  her  father's  daughter.  Damme, 
but  a  man  spoils  his  temper  and  wooes  wrinkles 
when  he  falls  in  love  with  one  woman ;  and  in  num- 
bers there  is  peace.  I  believe  there  is  a  crowfoot 
already,"  he  laughed  ruefully,  passing  his  hand 
about  his  eyes.  "Methinks  I  will  turn  in  at  the 
White  Horse  for  a  throw  of  the  dice  for  luck." 

As  he  stood  irresolutely,  out  of  the  tavern  win- 
dows flickered  the  lights  hazily  through  the  smoke, 
and  above  the  sound  of  voices  that  drifted  out  into 
the  night  rose  the  shrill  laughter  of  a  girl. 

"By  the  Lord  Harry,  there  is  Spanish  Nell  danc- 
ing a  fandango,  and  the  wanton  is  turned  as  nobly 
as  Phryne.  What  a  pucker  about  nothing !  'Twill 
be  a  sorry  old  world  when  wine,  women  and  cards 
shall  fail !"  Setting  his  hat  upon  his  well-curled 
wig  with  the  elegant  carriage  of  a  gentleman  of 
fashion,  Mr.  Yonge  entered  the  tavern. 

About  the  long,  low  room,  smoked  and  smoke- 
dim,  hot  with  the  breath  of  men  and  the  breath  of 
wine,  in  chairs  well  pushed  back,  some  half  score 
gentlemen ;  crowding  about  the  doors,  sailors,  eager- 
eyed  and  applauding;  on  the  mantel,  with  legs  and 
sword  dangling,  sat  a  swarthy  seaman,  picturesque 
and  desperate,  who  might  have  been  the  king  of  the 
pirates  himself.  Upon  a  harp  he  played  with  no 
unskilful  fingers  a  fantastic  and  musical  air. 


242  The  Carolinians 

On  the  long  deal  table,  from  which  the  flagons 
and  bottles  had  been  unceremoniously  shifted  to  the 
floor,  a  girl  danced  to  the  capricious  measure  of  the 
harp.  The  Castilian  grace  in  the  poise  of  the  small, 
dark  head,  and  the  witching  shadows  under  the 
liquid  eyes,  suggested  the  blood  of  some  free-boot- 
ing rover  from  the  Spanish  main.  Flashing  with 
light  and  color  as  a  jewel  in  the  sunlight,  the  girl 
poised  upon  her  dainty  toes,  waving  her  arms  above 
her  head  in  sensuous  rhythm,  the  melody  of  the 
dance  quivering  in  every  delicious  curve  of  her  lithe, 
warm  body. 

"A  guinea  for  the  Tillies  of  Castile,'  Nelly!" 
called  Mr.  Yonge  gaily,  pressing  through  the  crowd 
of  seamen  about  the  door. 

"It  is  not  your  lillies  but  your  roses  that  he  is 
wanting,  Nelly!"  laughed  a  sailor. 

"It  is  Nelly  herself  he  is  wanting  to  buy  with  his 
English  gold!"  called  another. 

"Silence,  you  dogs !"  cried  Mr.  Yonge  angrily. 
"The  'Lillies  of  Castile,'  Nelly,"  he  repeated  coax- 
ingly,  holding  up  the  gold  piece  in  his  fingers. 

"Gad,  I'll  make  it  two,  Nelly !"  cried  the  cadet  of 
a  noble  English  house,  springing  to  his  feet  with  a 
flushed  boyish  face. 

"Three,  Nelly,  with  a  kiss  thrown  in !"  added  a 
stout,  dissolute  man,  pounding  upon  the  arm  of  his 
chair  with  his  pewter  flagon. 

The  girl  balanced  herself  gracefully  upon  the  edge 
of  the  table,  leaning  forward  until  her  white  bosom 
swelled  above  her  crimson  kerchief.  Out  of  her 
eyes  into  the  compelling  eyes  of  Francis  Yonge 


Thickening  Clouds  243 

slipped  a  long,  slow  ray  of  bewildering  light  that 
seemed  to  hold  in  it  all  of  the  girl's  vivid,  passion- 
ate personality.  The  warm  lips  breathed  a  sigh  as 
she  reached  out  her  slim  brown  hand  like  one  grop- 
ing in  the  dark.  As  the  pretty  head  was  lowered 
Francis  Yonge  leaned  toward  her  with  his  brilliant, 
enticing  smile,  and  there,  as  he  would  have  whis- 
pered a  word,  he  saw  among  the  shadowy  curls  a 
scarlet  pomegranate  blossom.  Had  she  struck  him 
he  could  not  have  recoiled  more  quickly;  the  hot 
room  melted  into  a  space  frosty  and  crystalline  that 
held  only  a  pair  of  scornful  grey  eyes. 

"Nay,  Nellie,"  ne  spoke  mockingly,  "methinks 
I  have  changed  my  mind  like  a  woman.  Rather 
than  lillies  would  I  have  that  blossom  in  your  hair. 
A  guinea  for  a  blossom  is  a  fair  good  price." 

Straightening  herself  with  a  reckless  laugh,  the 
girl  passed  the  blossom  to  him,  and  as  he  stuck  it 
jauntily  into  his  coat  the  gold  chinked  at  her  feet. 
She  gave  a  signal  with  the  tambourine  in  her  hand, 
the  harper  struck  up  a  vibrant  melody,  and  she  fell 
into  the  rhythm  of  a  dance  like  which  there  is  none 
other  in  reckless  grace  and  abandon,  save  only  the 
nautch  dance  of  the  East. 

But  for  Francfs  Yonge  the  "Lillies  of  Castile" 
was  danced  in  vain;  in  bitterness  and  rage  the  girl 
saw  him  disappear  through  the  doorway.  Outside 
in  the  street  he  ground  the  scarlet  flower  wrath- 
fully  into  the  dust  with  his  heel. 

"Damaris's  flower  in  the  hair  of  a  tavern  girl!" 
he  groaned.  "And  I — I  am  like  to  become  a  saint, 
Saint  Francis;  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi!  By  my 


244  The  Carolinians 

faith,  a  right  pious  sound  it  has !  And  the  proper 
place  for  a  saint  after  candle-light  is  in  bed.  You 
are  a  fool,  Francis  Yonge,  and  all  for  the  sake  of 
a  woman  who  gives  you  but  a  cold  little  hand!" 
With  an  impatient  laugh  he  strode  through  the 
darkness. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

NOBLESSE    OBLIGE 

"You  think  I'll  weep; 
No,   I'll  not  weep. 

I   have   full  cause  of   weeping,   but  this  heart 
Shall  break  into  a  hundred  thousand  flames 
Or  ere  I'll  weep." 

— King  Lear. 

While  it  was  yet  dark  on  the  morning  of  Novem- 
ber the  5th  Damaris,  shivering  with  cold  and  ex- 
citement, was  warming  herself  before  a  freshly 
lighted  fire  in  the  dining-room.  Restlessly  she 
crossed  to  the  window.  Outside  the  cold  had  come 
sharply  and  in  sudden  fashion,  as  is  its  wont  in 
this  climate,  and  a  soft  white  rime  shone  upon  the 
magnolias  and  upon  the  drooping  fringes  of  the 
bananas.  As  she  turned  away  she  staggered  a  lit- 
tle, and  then  she  remembered  she  had  eaten  nothing 
since  yesterday's  breakfast.  She  crossed  over  to  the 
dresser,  poured  out  a  glass  of  Madeira  and  broke 
off  a  fragment  of  bread,  for  she  realized  that  she 
needed  all  of  her  strength.  When  the  hoofs  of  the 
horses  rang  sharply  on  the  frosted  drive  she  went 
quickly  without. 

"Good-morning,   Sergeant." 

"It's  a  verra  fine  morning,  Mistress ;  a  verra  fine 
morning  to  sleep.  It's  a  puir  shame  to  be  leaving 


246  The  Carolinians 

your  warm  kivers  and  giving  up  your  tender  body 
to  the  frost,  and  it's  the  Governor  will  be  kilting 
me  up  in  a  tow  for  aiding  and  abetting  you,  and 
verra  right  he  will  be.  But  I  am  a  puir  Scots  body, 
none  sae  stout  in  spirit,  and  am  at  your  service 
freely.  It  is  about  the  wharves  I  have  been  taking 
my  naps  all  night,  for  the  sake  o'  the  caller  air,  and 
sound  there  was  none  frae  the  sea  save  the  sough 
of  the  waters,  and  never  a  sight  save  the  blink  o' 
the  stars,  and  nae  more  people  there  seemed  in  the 
world  than  last  year's  snow  on  the  graves  in  the 
kirk-yard.  Its  nae  denying,  we  all  hae  our  frail- 
ties," he  ended  mournfully. 

"Troth,  I  hope  it  is  no  frailty  to  serve  another, 
else  I  fear  me  there  is  no  sound  spot  in  you,  Ser- 
geant," answered  Damaris  warmly  as  he  wrapped 
her  in  the  robes. 

'  'Tis  a  kittle  cast  she  has  gien  me  to  play.  The 
Governor  is  nae  a  man  to  be  bumbaized,  but  syne 
it's  her  play  I'll  nae  baulk  her  for  all  the  hempen 
cravates  in  the  colonies,"  he  grumbled  to  himself 
as  he  climbed  to  the  box  and  gave  the  word  to  drive 
to  the  Watch  House. 

In  joyful  surprise  the  astonished  guard  welcomed 
the  Governor's  daughter  to  his  cheerless  best.  How- 
ever, cold  and  discomfort  were  as  naught  to  her 
now,  for  sorrow  deadens  the  body  to  its  natural 
wants.  She  sat  there,  letting  pain  have  its  will  of 
her  through  the  long,  silent  waiting.  The  black- 
ness of  dawn  wore  away  to  the  dim  threadbare- 
ness  that  foretells  the  light ;  then  like  a  white  flower, 
petals  rose-tinged,  the  day  opened  out  of  the  grey 


Noblesse  Oblige  247 

emptiness  of  dawn ;  across  the  vague  sea,  where  the 
mist  lay  like  rolls  of  lamb's  wool,  passed  a  waning 
line  of  sea-birds;  from  out  of  a  tree  hard  by  came 
the  waking  song  of  a  mocking-bird.  With  notes 
clear  and  pure  as  though  born  of  the  light,  he  sa- 
luted the  sun;  and  with  the  gladness  of  the  bird 
came  a  gladness  into  the  heart  of  the  girl,  for  out 
on  the  waters,  come  life  or  come  death,  was  the 
man  who  loved  her.  He  had  been  true  to  his  faith, 
let  the  tragedy  finish  as  it  would. 

Damaris  was  the  first  but  not  the  only  anxious 
watcher  that  morning,  for  from  tidings  received 
it  was  surmised  that  the  encounter  would  be  speedy 
and  at  no  great  distance  from  the  town. 

Shortly  before  eight  o'clock  a  small  pink  came 
in,  bringing  the  intelligence  that  the  Governor's  fleet 
had  weighed  anchor  quietly  about  dawn.  With  no 
warlike  show,  but  to  all  appearance  outward-bound 
merchantmen,  straight  they  had  steered  to  where 
the  pirate  fleet  lay  at  anchor  without.  Intense  ex- 
citement now  prevailed.  Damaris,  awaiting  she 
knew  not  what,  stood  in  the  window  of  the  upper 
guard-room.  Her  hood  had  fallen  back  and  the 
cold  wind  played  upon  her  white  face  with  its  wide, 
intent  eyes. 

Old  Mr.  Maynard  coming  upon  here  there,  had  es- 
tablished himself  as  her  guardian,  and  had  ordered 
a  cup  of  coffee  to  be  fetched  from  a  neighboring 
tavern ;  but  never  for  a  moment  would  the  faithful 
Sergeant  pass  beyond  ear-shot,  though  the  winds 
blew  chill  and  the  sign  of  the  Mermaid  beckoned 
temptingly. 


248  The  Carolinians 

Meanwhile,  half  a  dozen  indignant  messages  had 
come  from  Lady  Kildare,  to  all  of  which  Damaris 
sent  polite  refusals,  which  the  trembling  footman 
carried  each  time  in  greater  trepidation  to  his  mis- 
tress. 

Suddenly  out  of  the  distance  came  a  low,  dull 
sound.  Like  the  booming  of  a  great  billow  it  seemed, 
but  to  every  watcher  it  brought  a  thrill  of  excite- 
ment. 

"The  first  gun!"  said  Mr.  Maynard  quietly,  lay- 
ing his  hand  upon  the  arm  of  the  listening  girl, 
though  indeed  she  showed  no  sign  of  excitement. 
"They  have  come  within  range  of  the  enemy,"  he 
added,  as  dull  report  followed  dull  report.  "We'll 
give  it  to  them  to-day,  never  fear !" 

"May  the  Lord  of  Hosts  be  with  us !"  spoke  de- 
voutly a  dissenting  elder  who  had  joined  the  group. 

"May  the  hoodie  crows  fatten  on  their  thieving 
marrow;  may  the  deil  hae  a  warm  hame-caming 
for  his  ain !"  ejaculated  Sergeant  McLeod  with  equal 
devoutness  as  he  closed  up  behind  with  the  crowd. 

Eager  eyes  strained  seaward  trying  to  penetrate 
the  hazing  blue  of  the  distance,  but  nothing  saw 
they  save  the  long  sweep  of  the  gulls  cleaving  the 
water,  nothing  heard  they  save  the  dull  distance- 
softened  reports  that  told  them  that  out  there  upon 
the  waste  of  waters,  almost  at  their  door,  life  fought 
against  life,  law  against  outlawry,  right  against 
might;  but  what  would  be  the  outcome  of  the  fierce 
struggle  no  man  could  tell. 

Sometimes  a  shout,  sometimes  a  groan  followed 
the  report  as  the  humor  was  sanguine  or  otherwise. 


Noblesse  Oblige  249 

Upon  the  whole  the  crowd  was  inclined  to  be  cheer- 
ful, keeping  up  its  courage,  in  part,  by  recourse  to 
the  tavern  when  sound  there  was  none  from  the  sea. 

For  a  time  passing  patience  the  sound  of  firing 
had  ceased;  the  bell  of  the  Watch  House  struck 
twelve,  the  crowd  that  had  pressed  to  the  water's 
edge  clinging  to  every  point  of  observation  now  be- 
gan to  break  up  and  go  off  to  its  nooning,  for  the 
intense  wave  of  excitement  had  ebbed  a  little  from 
its  flush  tide. 

Suddenly  came  a  diversion,  a  sloop  was  seen  head- 
ing for  the  town  from  the  direction  of  Sullivan's 
Island. 

"Colonel  Rhett,  Colonel  Rhett !"  some  one  shouted, 
and  the  people  took  up  the  cry.  In  the  excitement 
of  the  larger  undertaking  they  had  well-nigh  for- 
gotten his  chase. 

The  trim  little  craft  showed  a  clean  pair  of  heels 
to  the  wind,  and  shortly  was  making  fast  to  the 
wharf,  while  the  people  crowded  to  see  the  deck 
where  a  man  stood  guarded  and  heavily  ironed. 

"Bonnet,  Bonnet!"  the  cry  passed  on.  "Rogue 
and  outlaw,  murderer  and  thief!  Swing  him  up 
to  the  yard-arm ;  all  the  shriving  in  the  world  could 
not  whiten  his  soul !" 

"There  was  another!" 

"Dead!"  some  one  answered. 

"Pity  to  cheat  the  gallows  with  an  honest  bul- 
let!" groaned  a  sailor. 

"At  him,  at  him!"  roared  the  frenzied  crowd. 

Damaris  shuddered  as  she  looked  down  upon  the 
surging  fury  that  pressed  toward  the  prisoner.  Al- 


250  The  Carolinians 

ready  me,n  were  in  the  water  clutching  at  the  sloop's 
sides,  their  knives  in  their  teeth. 

Upon  the  deck  stepped  Colonel  Rhett,  cool  and 
debonair  and  commanding.  With  an  ironical  smile 
he  swept  the  furious  mob. 

"Allow  the  prisoner  to  pass !"  he  spoke  quietly. 

A  sullen  mutter  was  the  only  reply,  a  long  arm 
swept  from  the  water  and  grasped  the  gunwale. 

"You  are  delaying  the  course  of  justice,  citizens !" 
spoke  Colonel  Rhett  as  quietly  as  before ;  but  there 
was  a  flash  in  his  eye  and  he  laid  his  hand  lightly 
upon  his  pistol.  "Fall  back!"  he  commanded  au- 
thoritatively. 

There  was  a  moment  of  irresolution,  then  the 
swimmers  splashed  discontentedly  to  the  shore  with 
muttered  curses,  and  upon  the  wharf  the  men  fell 
back,  leaving  a  passageway  through  which  passed 
the  desperate  pirate,  sullen-faced,  reckless,  with 
clanking  irons. 

Damaris,  in  the  window  above,  heard  the  story 
of  the  capture  told  by  Colonel  Rhett  to  his  eager 
questioners.  Handsome  and  gallant  as  usual,  his 
crimson  cloak  correct  in  its  folds,  not  a  dishevelled 
curl  in  his  well-set  wig,  he  told  of  it  as  he  might 
have  described  a  London  rout. 

"A  very  simple  story  truly,  and  a  right  inglorious 
conquest.  I  felt  like  a  lad  chasing  pigs  in  the  myr- 
tles. There  we  came  upon  them  in  a  bushy  lair  cook- 
ing some  ill-smelling  pork.  Rashly  my  men  fired. 
Heriot  was  killed,  a  negro  and  Indian  wounded, 
Bonnet  surrendered.  Here  we  are,  Bonnet  to  await 
his  trial,  I  to  find  some  dinner.  Wretched  poor  cook 


Noblesse  Oblige  251 

that  cabin-boy.  Damme,  bad  cooking  is  a  more 
murderous  offense  than  piracy,  methinks!  Good- 
morning,  gentlemen,"  he  laughed  ironically,  "I  feel 
like  a  stage  hero  with  a  pewter  sword!" 

Damaris  drew  back  into  the  shelter  of  the  win- 
dow, she  wanted  no  greetings  from  him.  "Were  it 
not  for  his  most  unruly  temper  my  father  would 
not  be  out  yonder  on  the  seas,"  she  said  to  herself 
resentfully.  "And  a  man  of  such  approved  cour- 
age, too!" 

"Won't  you  come  and  have  a  bite  of  dinner  with 
me,  Mistress  Damaris?  Good  courage  and  good 
appetite  go  together,"  said  Mr.  Maynard  kindly. 

"Indeed,  I  am  truly  obliged,  but  I  would  rather 
not,"  she  answered,  shaking  her  head  resolutely. 

"Humph,  live  on  air!"  he  growled.  Small  pa- 
tience had  he  with  women  and  with  their  vagaries ; 
against  this  woman  in  particular  he  held  a  griev- 
ance. "Bowled  my  boy  over  deuced  unfair,"  he 
had  been  saying  to  harden  his  heart  against  her. 
"But  she  is  a  plucky  lass ;  no  tears  and  don't  squeal. 
Pure  stock,  good  action,  plenty  of  speed.  Why 
didn't  Bob  Johnson  and  I  settle  it  between  us  and 
not  leave  it  to  two  unbroken  colts."  He  shook  his 
head  ruefully  as  he  walked  away. 

"Better  change  your  mind  and  come;  woman's 
privilege,  you  know."  He  had  risked  the  overcook- 
ing of  his  beef  and  come  back  to  urge  her.  "She 
looked  as  if  she  were  going  to  bowl  over,"  he  said 
to  himself  in  self-justification.  "Our  mothers  were 
women  and  we  must  look  after  the  weaker  sex." 


252  The  Carolinians 

"Thank  you;  no,  I  am  not  hungry;  but  you  are 
very  kind." 

"Zounds !  Madam,  I  am  no  such  thing,  I  am 
barely  civil,"  he  disclaimed,  and  rushed  away  in- 
gloriously  before  her  sad  eyes  should  quite  undo 
his  righteous  indignation. 

Upon  the  wharf  below  came  Mr.  Richard  Allein, 
who  immediately  became  the  center  of  a  question- 
ing crowd. 

"Has  the  verdict  been  given?"  they  asked  as  with 
one  voice. 

"The  verdict  has  been  given,"  he  replied  gravely. 
"Twenty-two  of  the  pirates  have  received  sentence 
of  death.  They  will  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until 
they  are  dead  upon  White  Point  Garden  on  the  8th 
day  of  November  in  this  year  of  Our  Lord  1718, 
being  three  days  from  this  present." 

From  the  people  a  shout  went  up.  Damaris  bur- 
ied her  face  in  her  hands. 

"Where  will  your  humor  lead  you  next,  Mistress 
Damaris?"  asked  Mr.  Yonge.  He  was  flushed  in 
face  and  decidedly  out  of  humor. 

"In  truth,  I  know  not;  but  wherever  it  leads  I 
will  follow,"  she  answered  defiantly. 

"By  my  faith,  that  you  will  not;  'tis  high  time 
that  I  assert  my  authority!" 

"Your  authority?"  she  asked  haughtily. 

"Certes ;  the  promise  that  I  hold  from  you  means 
something,  does  it  not,  wilful  Mistress?"  he  asked 
irately. 

"It  means  no  more  than  I  choose,"  she  answered 
with  sudden  quiet.  "Is  it  a  time  to  harry  me  about 


Noblesse  Oblige  253 

trifles  when  that  is  going  on  over  yonder?"  she 
asked  with  glooming  eyes,  pointing  out  to  sea. 

"Even  now  my  father  and  my — " 

"Finish !"  he  said  savagely. 

"My  father  and  my  countrymen  are  in  peril  of 
their  lives,"  she  answered  with  dignity. 

Francis  Yonge  took  several  pinches  of  snuff. 
When  he  spoke  his  voice  was  gentler. 

"Pardon  my  heat,  sweetheart ;  'tis  enough  to  ruf- 
fle a  man's  temper  to  find  his  plighted  lady  for- 
getful of  her  position  and  of  its  obligations,  con- 
sorting unattended  with  the  rabble,  when  but  a 
word  would  have  brought  her  proper  protector  to 
her." 

"I  am  the  best  judge  of  what  is  fitting  my  posi- 
tion and  its  obligations.  For  the  rest  we  will  dis- 
continue this  argument  for  this  present,  seeing  that 
thoughts  of  deeper  moment  press." 

"Forgive  me,  fair,  sweet  friend ;  I  am  a  brute !" 
he  pleaded.  Too  late  he  saw  his  mistake.  "You 
are  so  confoundedly  adorable  and  reckless  that  a 
man  loses  his  head  as  well  as  his  heart." 

She  accepted  the  apology  in  silence,  nor  shifted 
her  eyes  from  the  horizon.  She  was  exhausted  and 
unnerved;  every  word  cost  some  of  her  failing 
strength. 

"You  are  overtired.  Prithee,  go  home,  sweet 
friend ;  I  will  send  you  tidings,"  he  begged  in  genu- 
ine concern.  She  shook  her  head. 

"It  isn't  possible  that  you  have  fasted  all  day?" 
She  shook  her  head,  mendaciously  this  time. 


254  The  Carolinians 

"So,  Mistress  Damaris,  I  have  not  tarried  long 
away,  have  I  ?"  asked  Mr.  Maynard  eagerly.  "And 
I  have  brought  you  a  bite  of  bread  and  meat,  and 
a  sup  of  wine.  You  won't  hurt  an  old  man's  feel- 
ings by  refusing  it ;  there's  nothing  like  strong  vic- 
tuals to  hearten  one  up !"  He  beamed  all  over  as 
he  handed  her  the  little  basket,  and  Damaris,  deeply 
touched,  thanked  him  more  with  her  eyes  than  with 
words,  and  to  show  her  appreciation  struggled 
bravely  to  eat  a  portion  thereof,  with  an  occasional 
pat  of  encouragement  from  her  converted  enemy. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Yonge  looked  on  in  a  chagrined 
silence  new  to  him,  and  in  secret  heaped  upon  him- 
self and  upon  fortune  the  refinement  of  maledic- 
tion. Truly  the  day  had  gone  badly  for  him.  He 
had  begun  as  usual  with  his  cup  of  chocolate  in  bed, 
then  had  followed  his  perfumed  and  luxurious  bath, 
his  leisurely  and  exquisite  toilet,  the  making  of 
which  had  cost  his  man  more  than  a  bad  quarter 
'of  an  hour.  After  a  deliberate  breakfast  he  had 
strolled  to  the  wharf  to  seek  tidings  for  Damaris. 
There  he  had  loitered  from  group  to  group,  but 
had  failed  through  strange  mischance  to  learn  of 
her  presence  there.  At  the  Governor's  he  had 
learned  that  she  was  away  from  home;  where,  the 
servant  knew  not.  Thinking  to  find  her  with  Lady 
Kildare,  he  proceeded  there,  where  his  disappoint- 
ment and  her  well-informed  Ladyship  incited  him 
to  his  recent  attack  of  spleen. 

As  long  as  things  drifted  along  upon  the  slack 
tide  of  commonplace  event,  Lady  Kildare  was  sure 
of  Damaris;  but  she  did  not  trust  her  under  the 


Noblesse  Oblige  255 

stress  of  danger  and  emotion.  "The  Johnsons  were 
always  uncommon  people,"  she  grumbled  to  her- 
self, "and  uncommon  people  upset  the  wisest  cal- 
culations." Lady  Kildare  frowned  and  struck  the 
floor  irately  with  her  jewelled  cane.  She  was  a  res- 
olute woman,  and  had  no  idea  of  being  balked  in 
her  plan  by  a  girl's  whim.  She  had  become  infatu- 
ated with  her  plan  of  paying  her  debt  to  the  Yonge 
lying  under  his  carven  effigy  in  Worcester  Cathedral, 
and  would  not  be  stayed  by  the  love  and  hates  of 
others. 

Again  in  the  afternoon  were  the  townsfolk  assem- 
bled upon  the  wharf;  a  new  thrill  of  excitement 
stirred  them.  Gentleman  and  yeoman,  Quaker  and 
churchman,  negro  and  merchant,  Indian  and  artizan 
pressed  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  crowd,  women 
squealed  in  the  press,  children  cried,  dogs  barked, 
waiting  horses  neighed,  when  suddenly  at  about 
three  in  the  afternoon,  upon  the  dim  line  of  the 
horizon,  a  dark  speck  grew  in  size  to  the  bigness 
of  a  ship's  hulk.  Then  waited  they  with  bated 
•breath,  the  only  sound  the  thrill  of  humanity  that 
pulsed  in  the  sunlight  air.  Was  she  their  own  ship 
or  the  pirate?  was  the  unspoken  question  in  the 
hearts  of  all.  Two  ships  showed  now,  moving  in 
company,  and  still  the  people  waited  with  tense 
breath.  Loud  and  clear  upon  the  thrilled  air  rang 
out  from  the  Watch  House,  in  a  woman's  voice, 
the  glad  cry,  "It  is  the  King's  ensign!"  Looking 
up  the  people  saw  the  Governor's  daughter  stand- 
ing there  like  a  prophetess  with  hand  uplifted  to 
the  sky.  Damaris's  clear  eyes,  love  quickened,  had 


256  The   Carolinians 

been  the  first  to  learn  the  truth.  A  shout  went  up 
from  the  loosened  hearts  of  the  people.  With  fair 
speed  came  the  staunch  ship  onward  with  the  sec- 
ond ship  in  her  wake.  "It  is  the  Mediterranean!" 
called  out  the  joyful  voice  of  the  girl,  and  the  cheers 
were  like  to  rend  the  air,  and  somewhere  the  voice  of 
the  devout  Quaker  was  uplifted  above  the  tumult, 
"The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us,  the  God  of  Jacob 
is  our  refuge !"  and  a  hearty  amen  went  through  the 
crowd  like  the  voice  of  many  waters.  An  exceed- 
ing great  tumult  ensued  when  the  good  ship  came 
at  last  to  her  moorings,  and  with  her  her  pirate 
prize  full  freighted  with  villains  black-browed, 
bearded,  desperate,  cursing  their  fetters. 

As  the  Governor  stepped  upon  shore  quick  to  his 
arms  sped  Damaris.  He  was  no  longer  Governor, 
nor  she  the  lady  of  the  mansion — father  and  daugh- 
ter were  they,  meeting  after  a  day  of  anguish  and 
peril.  Holding  fast  to  her  hand,  with  the  grave, 
well-content  look  of  a  man  who,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  has  accomplished  his  purpose,  he  told  the  story 
of  the  fight.  Simply  he  told  how  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, with  men  beneath  decks  and  guns  masked, 
under  the  semblance  of  merchantmen,  they  had 
dropped  down  to  where  the  pirates  lay.  The  ruse 
being  successful,  the  black  flag  was  quickly  run  up  to 
the  masthead  of  the  pirate  and  to  that  of  her  tender, 
both  of  whom  straightway  steered  to  the  mouth  of 
the  bar  there  to  intercept  the  suspected  flight  of  the 
merchantmen.  Whereupon  the  King's  ensign  was 
speedily  hoisted,  men  summoned  to  deck,  guns  un- 
covered and  a  broadside  raked  the  nearer  pirate's 


Noblesse  Oblige  257 

deck  with  deadly  effect.  Now  began  at  close  quar- 
ters, in  frightful  earnest,  the  battle  which  filled  the 
pirates  with  consternation,  sixty-eight  guns  being 
trained  upon  them  when  they  lay  trapped  between 
the  shore  and  Governor  Johnson's  vessels. 

With  daring  seamanship  the  pirate  ship  doubled 
and  showed  a  clean  pair  of  heels,  while  the  Mediter- 
ranean, signaling  to  the  King  William,  which  was 
the  fastest  sailer,  to  follow,  fell  into  pursuit,  the  Re- 
venge  and  the  Sea  Nymph  being  signaled  to  handle 
the  sloop. 

A  warm  chase  and  a  determined  one  brought  the 
pursuers  up  to  the  flying  pirate,  who  in  desperation 
lightened  her  of  her  guns  and  boats,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose, for  she  was  doomed.  A  blasting  fire  from  the 
King  William  raked  the  pirate  and  ripped  an  incur- 
able gash  in  her  side,  whereupon  the  black  flag  was 
lowered  and  she  made  forthwith  unconditional  sur- 
render. 

To  the  great  wonderment  of  the  captors  the 
prize,  which  hailed  as  the  New  York  Revenge, 
proved  to  be  the  Eagle,  bound  from  London  to  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland,  carrying  as  passengers  106  con- 
victs and  "covenant"  servants,  many  of  whom  were 
women.  Those  of  the  crew  who  would  not  join  the 
pirates  were  impressed  or  held  as  prisoners. 

"And  the  others?"  asked  Damaris  with  tighten- 
ing hand  upon  her  father's,  when  the  recital  but  not 
the  applause  was  ended. 

"Never  fear,"  answered  the  Governor  heartily, 
"they  cannot  be  long  behind." 


258  The  Carolinians 

And  true  it  was,  for  within  a  couple  of  hours  the 
Revenge  and  the  Sea  Nymph  came  gallantly  in,  the 
King's  ensign  bravely  alive  in  the  golden  light  of 
afternoon,  floating  also  above  the  pirate  sloop  where 
skull  and  cross-bones  were  wont  to  threaten. 

Again  huzzahs,  again  joy  that  knew  no  bounds, 
as  Captain  Maynard  stepped  from  the  many-storied 
Revenge  that  rocked  so  peacefully  at  her  moorings 
against  the  glory  of  the  daffodil  sky. 

In  the  face  of  the  young  Captain  was  the  triumph 
of  battle ;  he  had  fought  a  good  fight  and  he  knew 
it.  Smirched  was  he  with  powder  and  smoke,  and 
the  bravery  of  the  King's  scarlet  defaced  with  rent 
and  stain. 

Bareheaded  he  stood,  while  the  Governor  held  out 
his  hand  to  him.  Warmly  he  grasped  it,  but  to 
Mistress  Damaris  he  bowed  as  to  any  other  lady 
of  quality;  but  the  deathless  light  in  the  eyes  that 
sought  hers  for  a  moment,  meeting  there  the  death- 
less light,  wakened  anew  the  tragedy  of  two  brave 
lives. 

"Warm  work,  Captain,"  said  the  Governor  cheer- 
ily. "Tell  us  your  story." 

"It  is  easy  to  tell,"  answered  the  Captain,  with  a 
light  laugh. 

"Not  easy  to  have  done,"  answered  the  Governor 
proudly. 

"Well,  I  had  good  men  and  they  would  not  be 
beaten ;  that  is  my  story.  For  the  rest,  they  held  us 
for  four  hours  at  yard-arms,  and  fiercer  fighters  I 
hope  never  to  fall  foul  of.  Ours  was  the  advan- 
tage in  guns,  theirs  in  recklessness;  but  so  sharply 


Noblesse  Oblige  259 

we  raked  them  that  many  went  below.  We  boarded 
her,  but  they  fought  to  the  death — more  desperate 
courage  I  have  never  seen ;  and  the  chief,  like  a  lion 
at  bay,  went  down  at  last  with  a  dozen  wounds. 
Weltering  in  gore,  he  still  raised  his  cutlass  till  one 
of  our  men  hacked  his  arm  from  the  shoulder. 
When  at  last  we  got  the  ship  in  hand,  men  in  irons, 
I  felt  like  taking  off  my  hat  to  the  prisoners  and  their 
dead,"  he  ended  gravely. 

Congratulations  and  questions  poured  in  upon  the 
young  man  from  every  side,  and  the  Governor  and 
his  daughter  were  swept  away  by  the  crowd  to  an- 
other quarter,  where  the  Governor  learned  to  his 
great  dismay,  from  his  sailing  master,  that  the  cap- 
tured pirate  was  not  Moody  as  he  supposed,  but  one 
Richard  Worley,  an  even  greater  and  more  redoubt- 
able desperado. 

Here  was  a  new  complication  vastly  unpleasant. 
Where  was  Moody?  It  was  probable  that  he  still 
hovered  within  neighboring  inlets,  ready  to  fall 
upon  them  at  any  moment,  and  so  an  alert  watch 
must  be  kept  at  all  points;  also  it  was  decided  to 
maintain  the  fleet  ready  for  service,  for  the  work 
of  extermination  having  once  been  begun  must  be 
pushed  to  a  safe  finish  else  were  the  Colony  in 
greater  extremes. 

All  arrangements  having  been  made,  the  Gov- 
ernor finally  joined  Damaris  where  he  had  placed 
her  in  the  carriage,  seeing  that  her  strength  was 
so  far  spent  and  being  ever  solicitous  for  her. 

The  fine  breeding  of  Mr.  Yonge,  reinforced  by 
his  common  sense,  had  made  him  take  himself  off 
after  a  tender  farewell,  and  Lady  Kildare  being  de- 


260  The  Carolinians 

tained  at  home  by  the  apprehended  megrim,  the  girl 
was  free  from  restraint  and  leaned  back  with  a  sense 
of  something  having  been  too  far  stretched,  about 
to  break. 

Captain  Maynard  came  up  to  her  side  of  the  car- 
riage while  some  one  engaged  the  Governor  upon 
the  other. 

"I  am  glad,"  she  said,  reaching  out  her  hand,  with 
a  smile. 

"Must  it  go  on  as  it  is,  Damaris?"  he  asked  as 
he  crushed  her  hand  in  his  own,  powder-stained. 

"Truly,  unto  the  end?"  she  answered,  avoiding 
his  eyes. 

"A  man  has  a  right  to  his  own !"  he  claimed  hotly. 
He  was  flushed  with  the  spirit  of  conquest  and  bat- 
tles won  by  his  own  right  arm. 

"Truth,  but  not  to  that  of  another.  Free  gift, 
fast  bond,"  she  answered  pitifully. 

"You  gave,  not  knowing,"  he  urged;  "you  can- 
not hold  to  that  hollow  bond.  Nature  cries  against 
such  wrong ;  there  can  be  no  happiness !  We  love 
each  other,  and  by  heaven,  there  can  be  no  right 
in  the  thing  you  would  do !" 

"Surely,"  she  answered  gently;  "Noblesse  ob- 
lige!" she  ended  with  a  half  sob. 

"I  was  a  coward  to  ask!"  he  cried  remorsefully. 

The  Governor  looked  around  at  the  two  troubled 
faces.  Their  last  words  had  come  to  him  and  there 
was  a  puzzled  look  on  his  fine  old  face.  He  was 
near  to  questioning,  but  he  checked  himself. 

"Good-by,  Captain.  We  have  made  a  good  day 
of  it.  Come  to  me  soon,"  he  said  cordially.  "Home, 
Carson." 


Noblesse  Oblige  261 

He  passed  his  arm  around  Damaris.  With  the 
swift  prescience  of  woman  and  with  the  bravest 
smile  of  her  life,  the  girl  looked  up  and  spoke 
brightly : 

"It  is  good  to  have  you  back,  and  I  am  glad  Mr. 
Yonge  was  not  out  there  too.  Truly,  to  have  had  a 
father  and  a  declared  lover  both  upon  the  seas  would 
have  made  me  feel  like  the  lady  in  the  ballad,"  she 
ended  with  a  little  laugh. 

"And  how  about  the  undeclared?"  he  asked  jest- 
ingly. 

"Oh,  they  come  and  go  in  a  lifetime;  like  the 
tides  with  the  moon,"  she  answered  lightly. 

Reassured  by  her  tone,  the  Governor,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  carriage,  kissed  her  tenderly;  then, 
for  his  mind  was  full  of  grave  matters,  he  began 
anew  in  his  thoughts  to  work  out  the  salvation  of 
the  Colony. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE    WAY   OF    THE    WORLD 

"To  form  devices  quick  is  woman's  wit." 

— Euripides. 

It  was  late  December,  close  to  Christmastide, 
though  flowers  bloomed  and  soft  airs  blew.  Da- 
maris,  with  the  heedless  sweetness  of  wind-flowers 
in  her  face,  sat  with  her  work-basket  in  the  deep 
seat  of  the  drawing-room  window,  though  few  were 
the  stitches  that  fell  in  the  Governor's  ruffles,  the 
wistful  eyes  of  the  girl  seeking  oftener  the  blue 
stretch  of  the  bay  or  the  still,  lush  luxuriance  of 
the  garden. 

There  came  suddenly  the  grating  of  wheels,  the 
sound  of  voices,  the  sharp  click  of  high  heels  upon 
the  polished  cypress  floors,  the  rustle  of  silk,  the 
odor  of  musk  and  mille-fleurs,  and  Lady  Kildare 
stood  within  the  door,  shaking  her  cane  at  Damaris. 

"So,  Mistress  Damaris,  are  you  napping  in  the 
daytime,  that  you  come  not  to  welcome  a  guest  ?" 

"I  was  sewing,"  said  Damaris,  "and  thinking. 
Prithee,  be  welcome."  She  drew  up  a  chair  and  a 
footstool  and  divested  her  Ladyship  of  mantle  and 
furs. 

"Mercy  on  me,  child,  'tis  freezing  in  here !  What, 
windows  up  in  midwinter!  You  had  better  live  in 
tents  and  be  done  with  it." 


The  Way  of  the  World  263 

"I  did  consider  it  once,  but  methought  your  Lady- 
ship disapproved ;  perhaps  'tis  not  yet  too  late  ?"  Da- 
maris  smiled  wickedly  as  she  shut  out  the  sweet, 
mild  air. 

"  Tis  never  too  late  to  be  a  fool !" 

"Nor  too  late  to  begin  to  be  wise,"  she  replied 
significantly  as  she  threw  a  knot  of  light-wood  upon 
the  few  coals  remaining  from  the  morning  fire,  for 
in  the  damp,  mild  climate  of  the  Province  the  early 
fire  is  a  wise  precaution. 

"Methinks  that  you  have  not  been  growing  in 
wisdom  lately,"  spoke  Lady  Kildare  sharply. 

Damaris  laid  on  two  cedar  logs  with  great  pre- 
cision, then  she  took  down  the  bellows.  The  scar- 
let tongues  of  the  light-wood  flickered  warmly  about 
her  round  arms  and  played  vividly  over  her  face 
and  white  gown  as  she  knelt,  protracting  the  fire 
making  with  slow  upliftings  of  her  white  arms  and 
graceful  swayings  of  her  lithe  body.  That  Lady 
Kildare  had  come  to  give  battle,  she  doubted  not, 
but  she  would  delay  the  onset  as  long  as  she  might. 
She  had  not  seen  her  Ladyship  since  the  memora- 
ble watch  on  the  wharf,  partly  because  she  had 
found  it  convenient  to  avoid  her  summons,  partly 
because  her  Ladyship  had  been  attending  to  af- 
fairs upon  her  plantation,  for  despite  her  scorn 
of  domesticity,  she  managed  with  discretion  a  large 
and  lucrative  estate  inherited  from  a  brother  who 
had  died  in  the  Province. 

"One's  wisdom  depends  upon  one's  standpoint," 
Damaris  temporized  slowly. 

"The  standpoint  of  youth  is  ever  a  foolish  one." 


264  The  Carolinians 

"The  standpoint  of  youth  is  a  happy  one — it  has 
no  yesterdays  and  no  to-morrow." 

"Why  don't  you  call  a  servant  to  make  that  fire?" 
inquired  Lady  Kildare  impatiently. 

"I  love  to  kindle  fires,"  said  Damaris  sweetly, 
spreading  her  hands  before  the  scarlet  flames.  Her 
antagonist  was  thinking  how  pretty  she  looked 
kneeling  there,  and  'twas  a  pity  she  would  not  kin- 
dle fires  before  her  gallants;  but  she  would  not  be 
softened. 

"Come  and  sit  down;  you  are  monstrous  un- 
mannerly." 

Damaris  obeyed  and  took  up  her  work. 

"Pardon,  your  Ladyship;  'tis  a  vastly  fine  day," 
she  spoke  demurely. 

"The  day  does  well  enough,"  shortly. 

"I  trust  your  Ladyship  finds  herself  in  health," 
sweetly. 

"My  health  is  passing  good.  But  harkye,  I  didn't 
come  here  to  be  cozened  like  a  dowager ;  I  came  to 
find  out  what  is  the  meaning  of  your  conduct  ?  Don't 
say  a  word,  I've  heard  of  your  junketings.  What 
do  you  mean  by  traipsing  about  the  wharves  like 
a  sailor's  lass?" 

"I  am  a  sailor's  lass,  since  my  father  has  taken 
to  the  high-seas.  I  sing  sailor  ballads  and  none 
other  now. 

"It's  a  crying  shame!"  her  antagonist  fumed. 

"To  love  one's  father  or  to  sing  sailor  ballads?" 
asked  Damaris  innocently. 

"Father,  fiddlesticks !  I'm  no  boarding-school 
mistress  to  be  deceived  with  twaddle ;  I  know  your 
game!" 


The  Way  of  the  World  265 

Damaris  set  a  careful  stitch  in  the  Governor's 
lace,  while  her  face  grew  white. 

"Indeed,  then  'twere  useless  for  your  Ladyship  to 
ask  questions,"  she  answered  coolly. 

"I  don't  need  to  ask  questions;  all  the  world 
can  see!" 

"  Tis  a  wise  world."  She  set  another  careful 
stitch  in  the  Flemish  ruffle. 

"You  are  acting  in  a  very  foolish  and  reckless 
manner.  If  you  have  not  a  care  your  good  fortune 
will  slip  through  your  fingers.  Men  are  not  greatly 
given  to  endurance  where  women  are  concerned, 
and  Francis  Yonge  inherits  a  temper.  Why  don't 
you  listen  to  reason?" 

"I  do,  to  my  own." 

"How  now,  saucy  Miss,  have  done  with  you ;  rea- 
son companies  not  with  rash  blood,  it  is  the  fruit 
of  experience.  Girls  and  May  moons  and  March 
hares  for  madness." 

"All  the  world  is  mad,  more  or  less." 

"Don't  be  cynical,  it  isn't  becoming  to  the  young." 

"Ah,  blessed  age,  full  of  years  and  privileges, 
come  to  me  quickly !  Is  anything  becoming  to  the 
young?"  asked  the  girl  innocently. 

"Yes,  respect  and  obedience  to  its  betters.  When 
young  people  shall  come  to  admit  that  they  are  not 
wiser  than  their  elders  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  shall 
not  be  far  off !" 

"When  young  people  live  their  own  lives  they 
find  it  within  themselves  sometimes !"  cried  Damaris 
warmly. 

"Harkye,  don't  be  sacrilegious;  it  is  a  sorry  wit 
that  hedges  itself  behind  the  prophets.  I  am  tired 


266  The  Carolinians 

of  whims  and  pliskies;  are  you  going  to  be  sen- 
sible?" 

"That,  indeed,  I  cannot  say.  Often  have  I  tried 
it,  but  according  to  your  Ladyship  I  have  failed  so 
woefully  that  I  might  even  be  foolish  and  enjoy 
myself.  The  world  is  a  festival  for  fools  and  the 
wise  wear  themselves  out  trying  to  enlighten  them." 

"Don't  sharpen  your  wits  upon  me ;  I  abhor  clever 
women !" 

"Truly,  that  must  be  vastly  uncomfortable. 
Father  says  that  a  moderate  amount  of  self-respect 
is  necessary  to  a  good  digestion." 

"By  the  same  you  must  have  a  monstrous  fine 
one !" 

"So  I  have.  Another  one  of  the  evils  of  youth, 
your  Ladyship !" 

"So  also  is  an  unruly  tongue !" 

"  'Tis  comfortable  to  think  that  that  will  pass 
away  with  my  blushes  and  the  rest  of  youth's  vices. 

"I  misdoubt  the  same;  what  is  bred  in  the  bone 
aye  holds  its  own.  But  a  truce  to  your  parlous- 
ness;  what  of  Francis  Yonge?" 

"Faith,  I  trust  no  mischance  has  befallen  him?" 

"That  know  you  best.  A  more  distempered  swain 
have  I  never  set  eyes  upon.  Sour,  morose,  cross- 
grained  beyond  endurance.  He  had  the  effrontery 
to  tell  me  that  my  Madeira  was  wine  of  the  West- 
ern Isles.  As  though  I  knew  not  the  difference  be- 
tween mellow  Madeira  and  the  thin  vintages  with 
which  smugglers  do  flood  the  market.  By  the  Lord 
Harry,  it  is  a  sad  world  when  every  one  knows  bet- 
ter than  oneself!  What  have  you  done  to  him?" 

"Nothing,  your  Ladyship." 


The  Way  of  the  World  267 

What  are  you  going  to  do  with  him  after  all  of 
these  triflings?" 

"Marry  him,  I  suppose — Proprietors,  pirates  and 
Indians  permitting." 

"So  you  will  be  sensible  after  all." 

"Perchance !  Being  sensible  and  doing  right  seem 
not  always  to  be  the  same  thing — more  oft  it  is 
wrong." 

"Right  and  wrong  indeed!  And  who  are  you, 
Miss,  that  you  dare  declare  what  is  right  and  what 
is  wrong?  Very  interchangeable  words,  I  assure 
you." 

"They  ought  not  so  to  be.  Right  and  wrong 
should  be  as  different  as  day  and  night." 

"Right  and  wrong  are  two  faces  to  a  die — chance 
turns  them  up  and  chance  they  are.  To  be  wise  is 
always  to  believe  that  you  have  done  right." 

"To  be  wise,  it  seems,  one  must  be  born  without 
a  conscience." 

"So  be  it;  a  conscience  does  nothing  but  spoil 
one's  temper  and  digestion,  make  crowfeet  and  mis- 
ogamists." 

"A  woman  ought  to  be  quite  sure  that  she  loves 
a  man  ere  she  weds,  else  she  were  not  honest." 

"Fiddlesticks!  'Tis  vastly  modish  to  speak  of 
loving  your  husband  in  plays  and  romances;  'tisn't 
done  in  genteel  society." 

"To  love  a  man  better  than  her  own  life,  better 
than  her  sweet  will,  better  than  her  hope  of  heaven, 
better  than  her  fear  of  hell,  that  meseems  were  the 
part  of  a  true  woman  when  she  weds !" 

Damaris  spoke  earnestly,  with  glowing  eyes. 


268  The  Carolinians 

"Kitchen  wenches  marry  for  love  because  estab- 
lishments don't  go  down  the  backstairs.  But  their 
creed  is  nature,  none  of  your  hifaluting  nonsense !" 
replied  her  Ladyship  scornfully. 

"Then  are  kitchen  wenches  the  happier  and  the 
braver !"  cried  the  girl,  undaunted. 

"Nonsense;  to  love  some  one  is  to  furnish  a 
weapon  against  oneself!"  spoke  her  Ladyship 
emphatically. 

"Truly,  the  world  is  not  slow  to  furnish  them 
otherwise." 

"Love  cankers  reason !"  sneered  her  Ladyship. 

"It  makes  warm  hearts." 

"Cool  heart,  long  head." 

"Furthermore,  why  should  we  haste  to  wed — 
we  know  so  little  of  men.  Of  what  they  really 
are,  of  what  they  have  been  and  will  be,  of  what 
stains  may  lie  upon  their  past,  of  what  sins  may 
stand  between  us!" 

"Don't  you  be  worrying  about  their  pasts,  child; 
their  future  is  enough  for  the  reckoning  of  a  wo- 
man. Don't  be  rilling  your  head  with  dreams  of 
bloodless  shadows  of  spotless  knights.  Do  you 
think  that  men  are  made  after  the  fashion  of  nuns, 
that  they  should  have  a  frost-bitten  past  all  white 
and  passionless?" 

"I  think  that  a  man  should  hold  no  secrets  from 
his  wife,  yet  that  he  should  tell  her  nothing  that 
would  shame  her." 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  the  world  isn't  a  nun- 
nery, child,  and  the  powers  be  praised  that  it  isn't. 
Take  the  flowers,  child,  nor  question  the  mud  that 
made  them  grow.  This  world  has  lasted  a  consid- 


The  Way  of  the  World  269 

erable  time  as  it  is,  and  is  a  pretty  good  place.  I 
would  have  men  pretty  much  as  they  are  and  wo- 
men a  little  bit  different — when  they  are  young  a 
little  less  tartness  in  the  unripe  fruit." 

"And  I,  I  would  have  men  as  open-lived  as  wo- 
men, and  women  true  to  their  ideals !" 

"Fiddlesticks !  the  world  would  tumble  about  our 
ears  in  less  than  a  week.  You  need  to  go  to  Lon- 
don to  have  your  education  finished;  you  are  sadly 
provincial.  Ideals,  moonshine !  a  woman's  whims 
are  more  mischievous  than  her  vices !"  sneered  her 
Ladyship. 

"If  one  only  knew  the  truth,"  spoke  the  girl  in 
troubled  wise,  "life  would  be  so  much  easier." 

"Truth,  indeed.  Truth  ought  to  be  kept  at  the 
bottom  of  a  well;  it  is  too  rude  and  mischievous 
to  move  in  good  society,"  retorted  Lady  Kildare 
sharply. 

"Facts  ought  to  stand  for  something.  You  can- 
not deny  that  bare  facts  have  some  value  in  life!" 

"I  abhor  bare  facts.  I  prefer  mine  breeched  and 
ruffled !" 

"Everything  in  life  is  so  breeched  and  ruffled  that 
one  knows  not  what  is  real,  what  is  false.  There  is 
illusion  everywhere." 

"Forsooth,  'tis  well.  When  humanity  meets  hu- 
manity without  illusion  the  grace  of  life  is  de- 
stroyed." 

"Truly,  it  seems  so,"  answered  Damaris  sadly. 
Ugly  enough  her  life  looked  to  her  now  without 
illusion.  She  laid  down  her  weapons,  not  because 
she  felt  herself  worsted  in  her  convictions,  but  be- 


270  The  Carolinians 

cause  she  had  no  heart  for  the  conflict  where  her 
convictions  were  not  supported  by  her  conduct. 

"Well,  talk  as  you  please,  I  am  glad  you  are  a 
Johnson  and  will  hold  to  your  word  despite  your 
coquetries.  Not  that  coquetry  is  always  bad.  Oft- 
times  it  enhances  a  woman's  value — a  man  seldom 
wants  what  he  is  sure  of.  One  would  think  Francis 
Yonge  a  love-sick  Corydon.  Foolish  creatures, 
men;  more  foolish  than  women,  since  women  rule 
them.  And  what  does  our  Robert  Johnson,  our 
hero  of  the  high-seas?  And  what  is  the  gossip  of 
the  Province,  what  new  rottenness  in  politics?  Is 
it  true  that  Moody  has  claimed  the  King's  pardon 
at  New  Providence,  that  the  seas  are  safer  for  trade? 
Rumor  brings  me  many  things,  but  rumor  was  ever 
winged  lies." 

"Yes,  your  Ladyship,  'tis  certainly  true  that 
Moody  has  availed  himself  of  the  King's  pardon 
and  that  menace  is  removed  from  our  coasts.  Cap- 
tain Smyter,  of  the  Minerva,  sailing  from  the  Ma- 
derias,  has  so  reported  it.  He  states  that  he  was 
overhauled  by  Moody,  who  robbed  and  released  him, 
straightway  sailing  to  New  Providence  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  pardon  brought  out  by  Governor 
Woode  Rogers. 

"By  my  soul,  'tis  well !  Full  sweetly  have  I  slept 
since  the  first  twenty-two  fell  outlaws  captured  by 
Rhett  and  Maynard  swung  high  above  White  Point 
Garden  the  loth  day  of  this  blessed  November;  still 
sweeter  slept  I  when  later  the  twenty-three  more 
of  Governor  Johnson's  prisoners  swung  there  also, 
being  buried  in  the  quaking  marshland  above ;  good 
earth  were  too  good  for  such  carrion.  May  they 


The  Way  of  the  World  271 

rest  uneasy  in  their  freehold.  And  Stede  Bonnet — 
tell  me  of  his  trial,  child ;  thou  must  have  it  at  first 
hands. 

"  Tis  a  story  passing  pitiful.  I  wept  because  of 
him,  though  my  father  berated  me  sorely  therefor. 
Mr.  Richard  Allein  has  related  it  to  me  in  full,  'twas 
most  grievous.  'Tis  said  that  he  appealed  most 
womanfully ;  'twas  like  to  have  unmanned  the  Jus- 
tice and  Council.  I  would  they  had  pardoned  him ! 
'Tis  authentically  said  that  he  was  a  Bermudan  gen- 
tleman of  education  and  fortune,  inclined  to  his 
evil  course  of  life,  'tis  thought,  by  some  unsound- 
ness  of  the  mind.  He  besought  to  be  carried  to 
England  for  trial,  and  Colonel  Rhett,  whose  pris- 
oner he  was,  offered  to  carry  him.  He  threw  him- 
self at  my  father's  feet  and  begged  piteously  for 
his  life.  He  won  many  sympathies  for  himself  and 
many  exercised  themselves  in  his  behalf  because  of 
the  pitifulness  of  his  case,  My  father  was  hard- 
pressed,  being  a  merciful  gentleman  and  kind;  but 
he  said  he  was  a  most  notorious  villain,  one  who 
had  done  great  injuries  to  our  coast,  and  for  the 
safety  of  the  Province  and  for  the  example,  he  dare 
not  pardon  him.  Being  a  robber,  an  outlaw  and  a 
free-booter,  old  in  crime,  he  must  die.  I  do  not 
like  to  think  of  it;  I  can  almost  hear  him  plead 
sometimes."  Damaris  shuddered  and  passed  her 
hand  over  her  eyes. 

Robert  Johnson  is  right,  they  ought  to  be  hung 
root  and  branch.  Is  it  true  that  Nicholas  Trott  did 
deliver  himself  of  a  speech  lengthy  beyond  endur- 
ing, and  bristling  with  Scripture  as  twenty  Dissent- 
ing tracts?" 


272  The  Carolinians 

"Indeed,  your  Ladyship,  his  speech  was  most 
amazing — a  wonder  of  learning  and  law  and  Scrip- 
ture, 'twas  well-nigh  beyond  my  kenning.  Stede 
Bonnet,  it  is  said,  quoted  Scripture  even  as  learn- 
edly as  the  Justice.  The  Justice's  speech  was  vastly 
moral ;  perhaps  the  lawyers  knew  the  law  already, 
I  couldn't  make  it  out  from  the  speech.  Mr.  Allein 
lent  it  to  me.  He  said  it  was  a  most  remarkable 
speech  and  most  edifying.  I  read  it  from  beginning 
to  end.  I  hate  the  Justice,  never  fear;  I  but  be- 
thought me  to  see  what  a  monstrous  hypocrite  he 
is.  'Tis  a  very  clever  man  he  is,  and  a  weighty  one, 
therefore  the  likelier  his  secret  designs  to  succeed 
with  their  Lordships  in  London.  Methinks  double 
dealing  were  as  much  of  a  hanging  offense  as  pi- 
racy." 

"Thinks  your  father  so?" 

"Nay,  not  he,  the  greater  pity!  Because  he  is 
honest  himself  he  distrusts  not  others.  And  he 
did  think  so  he  would  not  tell  me;  he  says  mine  is 
an  unlawful  curiosity,  that  women  have  no  busi- 
ness with  politics.  When  I  ask  him  a  question  he 
tells  me  to  run  and  make  a  pudding.  Oh,  these  men, 
how  they  anger  me !  They  think  that  they  can  put 
women  where  they  will,  arid  there  we  will  stay ;  that 
they  will  tell  us  what  thoughts  to  think  and  so  will 
we  think  them.  Will  none  ever  discover  that  the 
tide  stays  not  for  a  man's  voice  ?" 

"Nay,  child,  fret  not  thyself  because  of  the  un- 
godly; they  will  continue  to  flourish  as  long  as 
women  continue  to  rejoice  that  a  man  is  born  into 
the  world.  Man  has  enjoyed  some  centuries  of 


The  Way  of  the  World  273 

supremacy  because  of  the  superiority  of  his  mus- 
cles ;  the  brute  still  reigns !" 

"Do  you  think  that  they  will  ever  come  to  un- 
derstand us?" 

"Heaven  forbid,  child,  that  they  should  under- 
stand us ;  masked  batteries  are  much  more  effective. 
Do  you  want  to  rob  life  of  its  interest  and  women 
of  their  power  ?  Cling  to  the  rouge  and  the  patches 
and  the  mental  mysteries — whatever  makes  woman 
different  from  man  increases  her  power !" 

"They  think  that  they  know  all  about  us,  and  in 
reading  us  do  ever  misthink  us." 

"Thoughts  fill  no  sails.  Besides,  the  angels,  than 
which  man  was  made  a  little  lower,  were  women. 
When  he  comes  to  recognize  it,  the  millenium  will 
not  be  far  off." 

"  'Tis  very  far  off  now,  methinks !" 

"So  much  the  better.  In  times  of  peace  wits  grow 
rusty  and  life  becomes  as  a  tale  that  is  told." 

"Truly,  a  woman's  wit  profits  her  little,  seeing 
that  man  grows  ever  more  and  more." 

"A  woman  without  wit  is  like  wine  unfermented. 
As  to  man  becoming  more,  there  speaks  the  man; 
with  the  progress  of  civilization  the  woman  becomes 
more ;  but  seeing  men  be  so  slow  of  wit  'twill  take 
them  a  hundred  or  two  years  to  find  it  out.  But 
a  picayune  for  the  thoughts  of  men  as  long  as  we 
lead  them,  and  that  as  long  as  all  be  not  turned 
priests  and  anchorites." 

"It  is  a  very  puzzling  world,"  sighed  the  girl. 
"One  looks  at  things  from  six  different  angles  and 
from  each  it  looks  different,  though  each  seems  to 
be  right  from  that  view.  How  can  one  ever  know  ?" 


274  The  Carolinians 

"One  isn't  meant  to  know.  One  curious  woman 
paid  a  sufficiently  heavy  price  one  idle  day  for  a 
little  useless  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  the 
race  has  been  disturbed  ever  since.  Don't  fag  your- 
self with  thinking;  do  what  is  sensible,  that  is  more 
to  the  point.  Thinking  destroys  a  woman's  bloom, 
and  no  woman  has  a  right  to  look  ugly  or  tired. 
By  so  doing  she  destroys  her  charm  and  asserts 
her  human  limitations." 

"I  don't  care  about  beauty  and  I  don't  care  about 
charm ;  I  don't  care  about  lovers — they  are  enemies 
of  a  woman's  peace  of  mind.  I  want  to  do  right 
and  I  want  to  be  happy;  I  have  read  that  women 
were  both,"  cried  Damaris  pathetically. 

"L'enfant  terrible.  She  wants  to  be  an  ideal  wo- 
man!" gasped  Lady  Kildare,  surveying  her  ironic- 
ally. 

"It  is  a  great  deal  easier  to  be  ideal  than  to  be 
womanly.  When  one  is  ideal  one  ignores  existing 
circumstances  and  lives  in  a  dream;  when  one  is 
womanly  one  accepts  them  and  makes  the  best  of 
them,"  maintained  the  girl  angrily. 

"Ton  my  life,  fiddlesticks  and  twaddle!  The 
girl  speaks  like  a  parson  and  I  can't  abide  the  cloth, 
so  I'll  be  going." 

Lady  Kildare  spoke  contemptuously,  tapping  the 
floor  with  her  cane,  while  her  eyes  glowered. 

"Shall  I  order  your  Ladyship's  carriage?"  asked 
Damaris  promptly. 

"You  need  not  be  in  such  a  hurry,  neither;  for 
certain  your  manners  need  mending!  There  comes 
Robert  Johnson,  I'll  but  pass  a  word  with  him ;  not 
that  he'll  tell  me  anything  worth  knowing — a  newt 


The  Way  of  the  World  275 

and  Robert  Johnson  for  news.  Forsooth,  men  are 
nasty  necessities !  Ah,  Governor  Johnson,  charmed 
to  see  you."  She  rose  with  great  courtesy,  sweep- 
ing to  him,  despite  her  stiffening  joints,  the  grand 
obeisance  that  she  had  made  to  the  Grand  Monarque 
when  the  beaux  yeux  of  the  English  demoiselle  were 
not  unnoticed  by  his  critical  Majesty.  From  the 
folds  of  her  tulip  brocade  floated  the  heavy  per- 
fumes of  France,  upon  bosom  and  hand  jewels 
flashed,  above  the  cunning  tower  of  white  curls 
plumes  nodded  as  she  courtesied.  "I  have  seldom 
the  privilege  of  a  chat  with  your  Excellency  nowa- 
days," she  added. 

"The  privilege  is  mine,  your  Ladyship,  seeing 
that  my  house  is  honored  by  your  presence."  The 
Governor  bowed  low  over  the  scented  hand  and 
raised  it  to  his  lips  ceremoniously. 

"Ta,  ta,  Governor,  vastly  modish  beaux  and  belles 
are  we;  though  we  dwell  in  the  wilderness,  we  are 
courtiers  still.  'Tis  the  younger  generation  who 
lack  breeding,"  she  ended,  with  a  sharp  glance  at 
Damaris. 

The  Governor  looked  quizzically  at  Damaris,  who 
flushed  warmly,  answering  with  pretty  audacity: 

"Nay,  father,  methinks  the  discourtesy  rests  not 
all  with  the  younger  generation,  seeing  that  the 
older  do  teach  them  to  criticise  their  hostesses!" 

"Truce,  truce!"  said  Lady  Kildare;  "saucy  bag- 
gage that  you  are.  Forsooth,  'tis  a  changeling  from 
the  court  of  France."  She  chuckled  pleasantly,  tap- 
ping her  shapely  slipper  with  its  flashing  buckle. 
"What  news  in  the  wilderness,  Governor?" 


276  The  Carolinians 

"Truth,  Madam,  I  know  none  save  what  is  known 
to  yourself." 

"Fiddlesticks!  naught  know  I  save  the  garbled 
lies  that  pass  for  rumor.  What  choice  new  villainy 
devises  Nicholas  Trott?" 

"The  Justice  has  lately  been  largely  employed  with 
the  trials  of  the  pirates,"  answered  the  Governor 
quietly. 

"Pirates,  pirates !  I  am  weary  of  my  life  because 
of  the  pirates.  Can  any  of  you  speak  of  aught  be- 
side? What  of  these  whispers  concerning  the  con- 
tinued disaffection  of  the  colonists  toward  their 
Lordships  ?" 

"That  there  has  been  somewhat  of  disloyal  talk, 
Madam,  that  do  I  not  deny ;  that  the  temper  at  this 
present  is  of  a  more  loyal  nature,  tHat  affirm  I  right 
gratefully." 

"You  do  but  lull  yourself  in  a  fool's  paradise, 
Governor,  in  which  the  serpent  is  Justice  Trott. 
Doubtless  they  are  more  contented  at  this  present, 
seeing  that  you  have  lately  rid  them  of  sea-thieves 
who  jeopardized  commerce,  and  for  the  time  being, 
in  gratitude  to  you,  incline  themselves  presumably 
to  their  Lordships  behests ;  but  lookye,  the  bow  too 
long  bent  will  snap,  be  the  archer  never  so  skilful !" 

"Nay,  Madam,  wise  in  all  things  that  pertain  to 
your  sphere  and  in  many  things  beside,  past  man's 
knowledge,  we  trust  that  in  this  you  prove  false 
prophet.  We  have  every  assurance  that  brighter 
days  are  dawning  for  our  people,  the  energy  and 
integrity  of  the  best  in  the  Province  being  entered 
thereupon." 


The  Way  of  the  World  277 

"That  for  the  energy  and  integrity  of  the  best  in 
the  Province !"  cried  she,  snapping  her  fingers  con- 
temptuously. "When  such  men  as  Trott  and  Rhett 
are  hand  in  glove  with  their  Lordships  what  can 
be  achieved  ?  When  the  Proprietors  grossly  neglect 
their  responsibilities,  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cry 
of  our  necessities,  can  they  maintain  their  author- 
ity over  us?  Is  it  at  their  costs  that  fortresses  are 
built,  wars  with  Indians  carried  on,  pirates  chased 
from  the  seas?  Have  we  not  provided  for  our- 
selves, to  their  eternal  shame  ?  Furthermore,  Rhett 
is  against  you.  'Tis  said  that  he  plays  in  the  dark  as 
Trott's  ally.  Proof  enough  have  you  of  his  temper 
toward  you  in  recent  events,  and  the  heart  of  the 
people  is  hot  against  them.  I  am  a  woman,  Gov- 
ernor, and  such  have  a  finer  touch  for  feeling  the 
pulse  of  the  people  than  a  man,  when  she  concerns 
herself  therewith ;  men  reason  too  much  and  see  too 
little.  Certain  letters  have  recently  gone  to  London 
very  compromising  to  Trott's  faith  with  the  people. 
How  do  I  know?  That  matters  not;  she  who  has 
once  lived  in  courts  keeps  ever  knowledge  of  the  back 
stairs.  Truly,  I  say  unto  you  that  a  day  cometh, 
and  that  speedily,  when  treachery  shall  walk  un- 
cloaked !" 

"Then,  your  Ladyship,  say  I  unto  you  that  should 
such  a  day  come  to  pass  we  will  meet  treachery  with 
loyalty,  dishonor  with  honor.  Yea,  should  a  multi- 
tude fall  away  those  that  remain  will  be  a  host  within 
themselves,  seeing  they  be  so  strong  with  patriotism, 
and  seeing  they  yield  not  their  trusts  but  with  their 
lives.  As  long  as  the  King's  seal  stands  upon  the 
charter  of  the  Proprietors,  so  long  will  we  protect 


278  The   Carolinians 

their  rights,  come  what  may,  so  help  us  heaven!" 
So  spoke  the  staunch  Governor  in  ringing  tones, 
head  uplifted,  hand  on  his  heart,  a  look  of  pure  de- 
termination in  the  fine,  brave  face. 

Despite  herself,  into  the  dark,  cynical  face  of  the 
indomitable  old  woman  came  a  look  of  genuine  ad- 
miration. 

"  'Pon  my  soul,  Governor,  you  would  almost  per- 
suade me  to  love  virtue,  though  vice  is  wont  to  be 
the  more  alluring.  God  save  the  King!"  she  cried 
warmly. 

"Amen !"  ejaculated  the  Governor  devoutly.  "As 
also  their  Lordships." 

"Save  them  from  mischief!"  she  retorted. 

"In  not  too  comfortable  a  place !"  added  Damaris, 
breaking  in  for  the  first  time. 

"My  daughter !"  reproved  the  Governor. 

"Out  of  the  fullness  of  the  heart,  father,"  she 
answered  undaunted. 

"With  the  wisdom  of  serpents,"  added  her  Lady- 
ship. 

"All  women  are  conspirators !"  spoke  the  Governor 
with  vexation. 

"All  men  are  blind !"  retorted  her  Ladyship.  "For- 
sooth, the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened  some  day," 
she  spoke  oracularly. 

"Perchance,  many  pass  for  blind,  Madam,  who 
must  shut  their  eyes  in  wisdom,  or  in  hope  fix  them 
beyond  the  clouds!"  sighed  the  Governor  heavily. 
"But  a  truce  to  matters  grave  and  serious.  So  my 
little  maid  has  been  earning  your  Ladyship's  dis- 


The  Way  of  the  World  279 

favor.  May  I  know  the  offense  ?"  he  asked  in  lighter 
vein. 

"Oh.  Damaris,"  snapped  my  lady,  ill-pleased  to 
be  put  off  like  a  child.  "Damaris  is  a  fool — not  so 
strange  neither,  considering  her  parentage." 

"Good  English  stock,  your  Ladyship,"  answered 
the  Governor  pleasantly,  ignoring  the  rudeness  of 
the  thrust. 

"One  would  think  she  came  of  frontier  trades- 
men and  covenant  maids.  She  vaunts  the  most  un- 
derbred views  of  matrimony." 

"Indeed,  your  Ladyship,  you  astonish  me.  I 
thought  that  she  was  betrothed  and  like  to  wed  in 
the  most  approved  fashion,"  replied  the  Governor 
gravely,  with  a  tightening  of  the  leonine  lines  in  his 
face. 

"  'Deed,  there  is  no  counting  upon  you  Johnsons. 
People  with  ideas  can't  be  relied  upon;  there  is  no 
telling  whether  she  will  do  it  or  not." 

The  Governor  looked  in  astonishment  at  her  Lady- 
ship, then  gravely  at  his  daughter. 

"There  seems  to  be  something  that  I  do  not  un- 
derstand, ladies,"  he  spoke  seriously. 

"No  more  will  you  as  long  as  Damaris  is  to  be 
reckoned  upon.  These  girls  who  ride  ideals  for 
hobby-horses  seldom  cross  the  bridge  of  common- 
sense  !" 

"Madam,  I  do  not  understand  you.  My  daughter 
is  betrothed,  by  her  own  choice,  nor  would  I  have 
her  marry  otherwise,  whatever  my  inclinations.  'Tis 
presumed  she  chose  for  love,  since  no  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  her.  A  woman  should  know 


280  The  Carolinians 

her  own  mind.  To  promise  is  to  hold  with  good 
women,  but  finding  that  she  has  chosen  lightly,  or 
deceived  herself,  'twere  better  to  break  than  to  hold 
with  a  falsehood." 

"Who  talks  of  breaking  ?  Oh,  you  vastly  impos- 
sible Johnsons !  I  but  spoke  of  a  girl's  passing  co- 
quetries, and  coquetry  is  after  all  the  atmosphere 
of  beauty,"  spoke  her  Ladyship  gaily;  but  to  herself 
she  was  saying,  "Plots  and  counterplots,  here's  one 
to  be  kept  in  the  dark." 

Ill-satisfied,  the  Governor  looked  from  her  spright- 
ly Ladyship  to  his  silent  daughter.  Both  women 
smiled;  that  told  him  nothing,  for  the  battery  of 
smiles  is  impregnable. 

"It  would  shame  me  to  have  my  daughter  act 
lightly;  but  'twere  the  greater  shame  to  have  her 
wed  unloving!"  he  spoke  sternly. 

"Daisies  and  ladslove,  here's  another  Corydon!" 
interposed  her  Ladyship  mockingly.  "All  the 
world's  gone  a-Maying,  where's  my  crown  of  roses 
and  the  hem  of  my  shepherd's  smock?" 

"I  hope  that  you  are  not  acting  lightly,  Damaris,'' 
said  the  Governor  sternly,  ignoring  her  Ladyship's 
badinage. 

"Nay,  she  has  chosen  most  weightily,"  again  in- 
terposed Lady  Kildare.  "Mr.  Yonge  can  never  more 
be  called  slender,  more  grief  to  him,  and  the  sol- 
idity of  his  fortune  none  can  doubt.  'Tis  a  mon- 
strous fine  match." 

"Have  you  chosen  lightly,  Damaris?"  repeated 
the  Governor  sternly. 


The  Way  of  the  World  281 

"Nay — "  began  again  her  Ladyship,  but  the  Gov- 
ernor interrupted  courteously : 

"And  it  please  your  Ladyship,  I  would  have  my 
daughter  answer,  whatever  the  pain  her  answer 
bring  me.  Speak,  girl ;  thou  art  not  wont  to  be  so 
slow  of  speech!" 

Lady  Kildare  shot  a  consuming  glance  at  him 
from  under  her  knitted  brows.  There  was  silence 
in  the  room,  even  the  buckled  slipper  lay  quiet  on 
its  stool. 

White  and  stern  stood  the  Governor,  command- 
ing and  inflexible  of  purpose,  his  arms  folded  upon 
his  chest.  Angry  and  indomitable  sat  the  old  lady ; 
eagerly  forward  she  leaned,  her  nervous  hands 
clasped  over  her  cane,  the  red  deepening  under  the 
rouge,  her  piercing  eyes  burning  their  unholy  and 
unalterable  purpose  into  the  mind  of  the  girl.  The 
girl  herself  standing  there  white  and  tremulous, 
shame  and  pain  and  pride  rending  her  virgin  heart, 
whose  most  sacred  feelings  were  summoned  to  the 
bar.  A  girl  with  her  youth  of  dreams  and  her  heart 
of  pain,  required  in  one  brief  moment  to  untangle 
the  web  of  cross-purposes  and  choose  the  straight- 
est  strand.  Silent  she  stood,  her  downcast  eyes  fol- 
lowing with  feverish  intentness  a  little  mauve  mouse 
that  browsed  emptily  over  the  rose  carnations  on 
the  rug. 

The  world  with  its  selfish  devices,  humanity  with 
its  proven  integrity,  youth  with  its  reckless  inexperi- 
ence contended  there  in  the  long,  low  room  where  the 
December  roses  smelled  sweet  in  their  India  bowls, 
and  outside  in  the  magnolia  a  mocking-bird  recalled 


282  The  Carolinians 

last  spring's  lovetime  in  rippling  trills  of  plaintive 
sweetness. 

To  the  girl  two  voices  called,  in  each  the  blended 
voices  of  right  and  wrong;  to  choose  the  voice  she 
loved  meant  to  do  the  thing  she  loved,  and  with  a 
woman's  belief  in  the  atoning  power  of  self-immola- 
tion she  closed  her  ears  to  it.  To  choose  the  other 
voice,  to  act  as  justice  and  duty  dictated,  were  harder 
still,  and  because  harder,  more  nearly  right,  she  rea- 
soned in  galling  self-reproach.  Because  her  father 
loved  her  he  would  give  her  this  chance  at  the  cost 
of  his  pride,  but  she  would  not  shame  him.  Hearts 
cannot  ache  forever,  other  women  had  gone  through 
life  with  hearts  grown  dead  through  pain — why  not 
she  as  well  as  another?  Surely  duty  were  greater 
than  love.  Youth  is  forgetful  of  the  past,  reckless 
of  the  future.  She  lifted  her  eyes,  but  they  avoided 
the  two  anxious  pairs  fixed  upon  her. 

"I  have  not  chosen  lightly,"  she  spoke  very  quietly. 
"Mr.  Yonge  is  content ;  for  the  rest  I  will  be  true  to 
my  word.  How  sweetly  that  bird  counterfeits 
spring." 

Lady  Kildare's  hands  unclasped  from  her  stick, 
falling  limply  to  her  side,  while  the  stick  clattered 
noisily  away,  frightening  the  little  mauve  mouse  into 
its  hole  and  silencing  the  mocking-bird's  song. 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  that  moment  aged  me  a 
twelve-month;  but  the  girl  isn't  a  fool  after  all," 
she  murmured  to  herself  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 
Aloud  she  said :  "Forsooth,  'tis  not  in  the  heart  of 
a  maid  to  withstand  the  beaux  yeux  of  Francis 
Yonge.  He  is  a  most  presentable  gallant,  of  a  fair 
wit  and  honey-tongued."  Then  she  leaned  back 


The  Way  of  the  World  283 

wearily  and  applied  herself  languidly  to  her  essence- 
bottle. 

"I  am  glad  that  it  is  as  you  say,"  spoke  the  Gov- 
ernor quietly,  his  eyes  still  upon  Damaris,  who  had 
turned  to  the  window.  "I  was  fearful  of  trouble." 

"Oh,  it  takes  you  men  to  make  tragedies  of  rose 
leaves.  What  a  dismal  place  this  world  would  be 
had  you  the  coloring  of  it,"  answered  Lady  Kildare 
playfully. 

"And  what  a  simple  place  'twould  be  without 
women  to  make  our  puzzles,"  he  replied  grimly. 

"A  most  intolerably  dull  and  outrageous  world; 
man  would  not  be  long  in  going  back  to  the  beasts." 

"True,  very  true,  your  Ladyship;  we  can't  do 
without  the  ladies.  They  are  our  very  troublesome 
pleasures  and  heavenly  helpmeets.  Daughter,  can 
you  not  offer  her  Ladyship  some  of  my  last 
Madeira  ?  'Tis  of  a  most  excellent  vintage ;  I  would 
prize  her  opinion." 

"Nay,  Governor,  you  flatter  me ;  and  to  think  that 
impertinent  Francis  Yonge  called  my  Madeira  Ten- 
eriffe  wine — 'tis  past  the  patience  of  a  gentlewoman. 
I'll  but  taste  of  the  wine  and  then  away ;  meanwhile 
be  so  civil  as  to  order  my  carriage." 

The  wine  was  pronounced  of  excellent  flavor,  mal- 
edictions heaped  anew  upon  Mr.  Yonge,  the  un- 
wonted favor  of  a  visionary  kiss  brushed  against 
Damaris's  soft  cheek,  then  with  the  great  air  of  the 
grande  dame,  with  rustling  of  perfumed  silks,  she 
was  handed  ceremoniously  to  her  coach  upon  the 
Governor's  arm. 

At  the  gate  stood  Captain  Maynard.  Seeing  him 
she  ordered  her  coach  to  stop  peremptorily. 


284  The  Carolinians 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  Tomahawk,  I  took  you  for 
a  ghost;  you  gave  me  quite  a  turn.  Small  wonder, 
that  redskins  and  pirates  flee  from  your  gloomy  coun- 
tenance. What  are  you  doing  here?"  she  asked 
querulously,  drumming  discontentedly  upon  the  panel 
of  the  coach. 

"And  it  please  your  Ladyship,  I  wait  upon  the 
Governor  at  his  command." 

"Will  you  be  going  into  the  wilderness  soon  ?"  she 
asked  with  eager  interest. 

"Nay,  Madam,  I  fear  I  cannot  so  pleasure  you, 
seeing  the  savages  are  inclined  to  peace  at  this 
present." 

"Impudent  coxcomb,  your  comings  and  goings 
concern  me  not!"  she  snapped,  glancing  sharply  at 
him. 

"Indeed,  Madam,  then  I  was  mistaken.  I  thought 
that  your  words  implied  some  interest,"  he  replied 
imperturbably. 

"The  egotism  of  young  men  inclines  them  to  think 
that  the  world  attaches  as  great  importance  to  their 
actions  as  they  do  themselves,"  retorted  Lady  Kildare 
witheringly. 

"Indeed,  your  Ladyship,  my  actions  are  of  small 
significance  to  myself  or  the  world,  therefore  your 
interest  surprised  me  the  more." 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  a  pox  on  the  boy's  impu- 
dence !  I  tell  you  they  do  not  interest  me,"  she  cried 
irately. 

"No,"  he  answered  courteously;  "it  seems  that  I 
flattered  myself.  I  will  bid  your  Ladyship  good- 
morning,  since  the  Governor  and  his  daughter  await 
me." 


The  Way  of  the  World  285 

The  words  were  soft,  but  they  disarmed  not  her 
wrath ;  there  was  a  look  on  his  face  that  she  did  not 
like.  She  drew  in  her  head  and  deigned  no  answer. 
"Robert  Johnson  is  a  fool,"  she  muttered ;  "all  good 
men  are.  He'll  spoil  all  yet.  I  don't  trust  that 
young  man ;  he  is  quiet.  Quiet  men  are  the  Devil's 
own  tools.  I'm  all  in  a  pucker.  I'm  in  for  a 
megrim,  an  indigestion,  and  an  attack  of  rheumatism. 
Deuce  fly  away  with  all  lovers !  I'm  a  be-ruffled  old 
fool  myself  to  try  and  substitute  pawns  on  the  board. 
Blood  beats  to  the  tune  of  the  heart  and  you  can't 
regulate  a  girl's  fancies.  I  like  that  boy's  face,  he 
is  a  mettlesome  lad.  If  he  whined  I  wouldn't  care. 
Nay,  but  I'll  have  my  will,  cost  what  it  may,  and 
hearts  don't  break  like  bean  pods.  'Patience  and 
shuffle  the  cards.'  Youth  holds  a  full  hand,  the  loss 
of  a  trick  more  or  less  does  not  count ;  'tis  only  when 
we  are  old  and  stake  our  all  on  the  last  trump — " 
She  fell  back  among  the  cushions ;  all  of  a  moment 
she  looked  old  and  shrivelled  and  gray,  uncon- 
sciously her  hands  groped  as  though  in  blindness. 
"The  last  trump  falls,  the  trick  is  lost,  we  pass  into 
the  darkness  beyond,  where  some  one  else  shuffles  the 
cards." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE    FEVER   OF    LIFE 

"And   wilt   thou   leave   me   thus? 
That  hath  loved  thee  so  long? 
In  wealth  and  woe  among. 
And  is  thy  heart  so  strong 
As  for  to  leave  me  thus? 
Say  nay!  say  nay!" 

— Thomas  Wyatt. 

It  was  Yule-tide  and  a  green  one,  albeit  not  the 
green  Yule  that  makes  a  fat  graveyard  according  to 
the  proverb,  for  in  the  Province  Yules  come  ever 
with  flowers  and  foliage.  Lady  Kildare  was  enter- 
taining a  party  at  her  plantation,  with  the  whole- 
some, hearty  hospitality  born  in  old  England.  There 
was  mirth  in  parlor  and  servants'  hall,  mirth  in  the 
clipped  alleys  of  the  garden,  and  mirth  in  the 
quarters. 

The  morn,  while  the  stars  still  shone,  the  gentle- 
men had  ridden  away  to  the  chase  with  winding  of 
horns  and  the  deep  baying  of  hounds.  Through  the 
day  the  ladies  had  played  at  amusing  themselves  with 
ombre,  tric-trac,  slander  and  crewel  work,  and  now 
that  Lady  Kildare  and  her  gossips  sat  themselves 
down  to  their  dish  of  tea  and  the  last  gleaning  of 
gossip,  Damaris  slipped  out  into  the  garden.  'Twas 
a  brave  old  garden,  made  after  the  fashion  of  Hol- 
land, with  close-set  hedges  and  shrubs  cunningly 


The  Fever  of  Life  287 

clipped  into  the  semblance  of  impossible  birds  and 
beasts ;  beyond  the  terraces  sloped  down  to  the  river, 
and  here  it  was  that  nature  had  her  own  wild  sweet 
way,  little  chidden,  with  the  shrubs  now  out  of 
flower. 

Damaris  sauntered  idly  between  the  box  hedges, 
but  they  were  too  circumscribed  for  her.  Next  she 
strolled  through  the  terraces  down  to  the  river. 
Here  she  seated  herself,  drawing  deep  breaths  of 
relief.  How  good  was  the  air  of  the  open  after  the 
musk  and  ambergris  of  the  warm  rooms ;  how  grate- 
ful the  quiet  after  the  chatter  and  gossip,  the  clicking 
of  ivory  needles  and  the  shuffling  of  cards. 

The  solitude  oppressed  her,  also  the  stillness  and 
the  motionless  calm.  She  sprang  to  her  feet  and 
dashed  down  to  the  water's  edge ;  there  several  boats 
tied  to  the  landing  rocked  lightly  at  their  moorings — 
one  a  canoe,  another  a  caique,  and  several  of  heavier 
build.  The  longing  for  vigorous  motion  overcame 
her ;  she  flung  her  scarf  upon  a  bush,  took  some  oars 
from  the  shed,  unfastened  the  boat  and  pushed  into 
the  open. 

A  little  later  Captain  Maynard  rode  into  the  stable 
yard ;  two  lop-eared  hounds,  crestfallen,  tails  slink- 
ing, followed  him.  The  Captain's  humor  was  not 
of  the  best,  the  two  culprits  had  led  him  upon  a  false 
scent  away  from  his  party.  When  he  discovered  it 
his  companions  were  well  away  upon  a  warm  trail, 
beyond  the  call  of  his  horn,  and  woodsman  as  he  was, 
he  did  not  attempt  to  rejoin  them ;  so  out  of  love  with 
himself  and  the  chase,  he  had  thrashed  his  dogs  and 
ridden  dejectedly  homeward. 


288  The  Carolinians 

Passing  from  the  stable  to  the  house  he  saw  an 
old  negress  nodding  and  dozing  over  her  spinning 
in  the  sun  before  her  cabin  door;  she  rose  as  he 
passed,  courtesying  low,  her  turbaned  head  bobbing 
up  and  down,  her  black  eyes  rolling,  her  thick  lips 
wide-drawn. 

"He,  he,  he,"  she  laughed ;  "massa  better  go  down 
to  de  ribber ;  he,  he,  he." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Maynard. 

"Don't  mean  nuttin' ;  he,  he,  he,  pooty  HI'  red-bird 
fly  low  on  de  ribber  bank." 

Maynard  was  passing  on,  when  something  in  her 
laughter  made  him  turn. 

"What  sort  of  a  red-bird,  mammy  ?"  he  asked. 

"Pooty  lady-bird;  HI'  missy  gone  down  dar,  I 
seen  'em."  Her  eyes  rolled  and  she  nodded  her  head 
knowingly  as  she  continued  her  chuckling  laughter. 

"What  little  missy?" 

"He,  he,  he,  'pear  lak  he  dunno ;  ain't  I  been  see 
him  a  cotin'  in  de  gardin.  Sho'  de  big  Gubnor's  HI' 
missy  git  all  de  cotin'." 

"Do  you  mean  that  Mistress  Damaris  is  walking 
alone  by  the  river  ?"  he  asked  severely. 

"Lord,  how  you  kum  kno'  dat ;  I  ain't  say  nuttin'," 
chuckled  the  negress,  as  the  Captain  threw  a  coin 
into  her  lap  and  strode  off  toward  the  river. 

He  searched  the  terraces,  calling  softly,  but  she 
did  not  answer;  he  walked  along  the  river,  calling 
louder. 

A  plague  on  the  girl ;  it  isn't  possible  that  she  is 
mad  enough  to  walk  in  the  forest  alone!"  he  ejacu- 
lated impatiently. 


The  Fever  of  Life  289 

Then  he  returned  and  skirted  the  river  on  the 
other  side  of  the  landing,  calling  and  searching  the 
ground  for  foot-prints,  though  indeed  none  might 
show  on  the  polished  carpet  of  needles  and  leaves. 
Reaching  the  landing  again  he  spied  her  scarf  across 
a  shrub,  then  he  noticed  that  the  canoe  was  gone,  and 
in  the  damp  sand  below  he  saw  what  made  him  leap 
down  and  kneel  with  horror,  examining  the  earth 
fearfully.  There  were  moccasined  foot-prints  lead- 
ing to  the  water  but  not  away  from  it.  He  drew  a 
breath  of  agony  and  sprung  into  the  caique,  sending 
it  out  into  the  stream  with  swift,  desperate  strokes. 

Which  way  should  he  turn?  The  blue  sky  pur- 
pling to  sunset,  the  rippling  waters  and  the  brown 
levels  of  marshland  gave  no  answer.  Something 
guided  him;  he  turned  the  boat  up  stream  with 
steady,  powerful  strokes;  now  to  right,  now  to  left 
he  plied,  between  his  feet  his  rifle  that  he  had  kept 
with  him,  his  eyes  searching  the  waters  and  the 
shore  and  the  fringes  of  tawny  marshland.  At  last 
ahead  of  him  he  spied  a  boat;  so  far  it  was  that  it 
lay  as  a  blur  in  the  hazing  distance,  its  occupant 
unrecognizable.  He  picked  up  his  rifle  with  one 
hand,  examining  its  priming  with  grim  eyes,  not 
losing  a  moment  from  the  paddle  with  the  other 
hand ;  then  he  shot  forward  again  with  renewed 
speed,  teeth  clenched,  eyes  hard,  every  muscle  tense, 
a  fear  gripping  his  heart  until  the  drops  stood  on 
his  brow. 

Then  all  at  once  a  weakness  overcame  him ;  he 
sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  his  face  buried  in 
his  hands.  "Thank  God,  thank  God !"  he  sobbed. 


290  The  Carolinians 

In  the  boat  ahead  of  him  his  keen  eyes  had  sighted 
Damaris  and  alone.  She  had  pulled  up  stream 
against  the  tide,  now  she  was  drifting  idly  down. 
Closer  she  came.  He  saw  the  sunlight  on  her  bright 
hair,  windblown;  the  gleam  of  her  scarlet  bodice, 
heard  the  splash  from  the  oars  she  had  again  taken 
up.  She  turned,  and  seeing  him  for  the  first  time 
waved  her  hand  lightly  to  him  in  greeting ;  and 
his  heart,  but  now  cold  with  dread,  grew  hot  and 
hard  against  her. 

"Will  you  never  have  done  with  your  folly  and 
recklessness?"  he  asked  severely,  his  eyes  flashing 
blue-black,  his  lips  twitching  as  he  brought  his  caique 
alongside  of  her. 

"Gramercy,  'tis  our  great  tragedian  again,"  she 
laughed  mockingly,  throwing  back  her  head  with  a 
proud  little  gesture  peculiar  to  her ;  then  straightway 
fell  she  a-rowing,  her  round  white  arms  moving 
easily  with  the  oars,  the  dimples  coming  and  going 
as  she  slackened  and  tightened  the  muscles. 

"Your  recklessness  passes  reason!"  he  cried 
angrily. 

"By  my  conscience,  Indians  again,  I  dare  say," 
she  drawled  mockingly. 

Maynard  spoke  not  a  word,  though  inward  gnash- 
ing of  teeth  there  was.  With  a  skill  peculiar  to 
savages  and  himself,  he  transferred  himself  from 
the  caique  to  her  canoe,  fastening  his  boat  behind  in 
angry  silence. 

"You  are  pleased  to  make  yourself  very  much  at 
home,"  she  flashed. 

He  looked  at  her  flushed  cheeks  and  her  shining 
eyes.  The  delicious  excitement  of  the  exercise 


The  Fever  of  Life  291 

tingled  in  her  veins,  giving  her  a  vivid  new  beauty ; 
but  he  thought  of  the  agony  he  had  undergone  and 
said  not  a  word.  The  reaction  had  come  now  and 
he  felt  strangely  limp.  As  she  rowed  vigorously  he 
kept  his  eyes  alert  upon  the  banks — he  had  not 
accounted  for  his  Indians  yet. 

"I  have  heard  of  guests  waiting  to  be  invited," 
she  said  haughtily. 

"I  warn  you  to  have  done  with  your  folly, 
Damaris.  I  am  near  to  shaking  you  for  your 
obstinate  madness.  Have  you  not  been  warned 
more  than  a  thousand  times  never  to  go  beyond  ear- 
shot alone?  Are  you  deaf  to  all  tales  that  come 
from  the  wilderness ;  have  you  no  understanding  of 
its  horrors?"  He  had  not  yet  recovered  his  equi- 
librium, the  bare  thought  of  what  might  have  been 
left  him  unnerved ;  he  regarded  her  in  the  light  of 
a  wilful  child.  He  had  shaken  her  once  when,  a 
slip  of  a  girl ;  she  had  run  through  a  strip  of  burning 
stubble,  while  fear  stopped  his  breath. 

"You  are  the  most  insolent,  overbearing,  boor- 
ish—" 

"Pull  hard  to  the  left,  quick,  with  all  your  might !" 
he  ordered  in  a  low  voice,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the 
bank,  where  a  tangle  of  bamboo  brier  matted  about 
the  hidden  mouth  of  a  stream. 

Angered  to  the  point  of  recklessness,  blinded  with 
rage,  in  sheer  perversity  she  pulled  hard  to  the  right. 

"Great  God !"  groaned  Maynard.  He  sprang  for- 
ward, wound  himself  about  the  girl,  shielding  her 
with  his  body.  An  arrow,  swift-sped  from  the 
green  tangle,  passed  through  the  sleeve  of  his  coat. 


292  The  Carolinians 

The  next  moment,  his  body  still  before  her,  he  lifted 
his  rifle  and  fired  into  the  cover. 

"Useless,"  he  muttered,  "the  skulking  rascal  is 
behind  a  tree.  "Pull  hard,"  he  added,  and  this  time 
she  obeyed  in  fear  and  trembling,  bending  to  it  the 
excited  energies  of  her  strong,  young  body,  while 
still  he  kneeled  between  her  and  the  possible  danger, 
his  rifle  ready. 

Neither  spoke  again  until  they  had  reached  the 
open  water  close  to  the  landing;  then  she  dropped 
her  oars. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  she  asked  anxiously. 

"No,  the  arrow  scarcely  grazed  me." 

"Perchance  it  were  poisoned." 

"Not  at  all  likely."  He  drew  out  the  arrow  and 
flung  it  into  the  water. 

"I  would  gladly  draw  out  the  venom  with  my 
lips,"  she  urged. 

"There  is  no  occasion.  Truly  it  is  nothing."  He 
spoke  impatiently,  but  he  sat  so  quiet  and  listless, 
neither  moving  nor  speaking,  that  she  became  the 
more  convinced  of  his  hurt. 

"You  deceive  me;  you  are  suffering!"  she  cried 
nervously. 

"No,  I  am  but  thanking  God  that  what  might  have 
happened  did  not  happen.  I  was  in  time,  the  rascal 
saw  me — "  He  broke  off,  and  as  his  eyes  rested 
upon  the  golden  head  that  might  have  suffered 
savage  ruth,  he  bowed  his  head  on  his  hands  and 
groaned. 

The  girl  shivered,  then  burying  her  face  in  her 
arms  sobbed.  Maynard  clenched  his  hands  and 
looked  away. 


The  Fever  of  Life  293 

After  a  time  she  grew  quiet  and  lifted  her  head. 
Something  shining  behind  the  mist  in  her  eyes 
startled  and  thrilled  him  in  spite  of  the  force  with 
which  he  was  binding  himself,  for  he  was  a  man  and 
he  loved  her,  and  the  meaning  of  right  and  wrong 
was  fast  growing  blurred  to  his  vision ;  that  through 
which  they  had  just  passed  seemed  to  have  broken 
down  all  conventional  bonds  and  put  them  upon  the 
level  of  nature's  law.  As  he  had  fought  for  her 
life,  so  he  felt  that  he  must  fight  for  her  love.  They 
looked  into  each  other's  eyes  and  the  revelation  came 
anew. 

"You  saved  me.  You  saved  my  life  at  the  risk 
of  your  own.  I — I  always  treat  you  as  though  I 
hated  you — and  yet — you  know  that  I  love  you!" 
she  cried  out  desperately  at  last. 

He  spoke  no  word ;  his  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the 
farther  shore. 

"God  forgive  me,  but  I  love  you !"  she  pleaded. 

"Can  you  love  me  and  submit  to  the  caresses  of 
another?"  he  asked  hoarsely. 

"It  is  false !"  she  cried  out  hotly. 

"  'Twill  not  be  always  so." 

For  a  little  there  was  no  word  spoken,  his  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  the  river  from  whence  they  had 
come;  hers  upon  the  glowing  sky,  out  of  which  the 
sun  had  slipped  beyond  the  glooming  forest,  leaving 
the  rest  of  the  world  to  the  greyness  of  undefined 
night.  The  twilight  closed  like  a  purple  morning- 
glory  about  them,  in  the  freshening  wind  the  river 
looked  like  the  ruffled  plumage  of  a  dove. 

"Would  God  I  were  free !"  she  cried  at  last. 

"Make  yourself  free ;  why  hold  to  this  mockery  ?" 


294  The  Carolinians 

"I  cannot ;  thereunto  have  I  pledged  my  word." 

"Damans,  Damaris,  sweetheart  mine!"  he  urged, 
bending  to  her  and  pleading  as  a  man  pleads  for  his 
life  when  it  is  sweet,  "break  the  false  bonds  that  bind 
you — in  such  lie  no  virtue — and  come  to  me.  You 
can  school  your  lips  to  a  lie,  your  eyes  to  a  smile, 
can  you  warrant  that  your  heart  beat  to  their 
measure  ?  Nay,  youth  and  love  will  be  free.  Come 
to  me,  beloved ;  so  long  have  I  waited  for  you." 

The  passionate  cry  went  out  to  her  heart  and 
found  its  answer  there.  Her  will  grew  as  wax,  her 
blood  as  water  in  her  veins;  through  a  space  that 
seemed  as  eternity  she  bent  with  the  weight  of  her 
love  to  his  love.  One  moment  more  arid  in  breath- 
less awe  his  lips  would  have  touched  her  lips,  and 
the  fullness  of  the  wonder  would  have  overwhelmed 
them  past  returning. 

Suddenly  she  started  back,  white  and  trembling 
with  fear. 

"Don't,  don't,  I  prithee!"  she  pleaded,  warning 
him  off  with  her  hands.  "Do  not  touch  me,  do  not 
look  at  me !  What  have  I  done,  what  have  I  done  ?" 
she  moaned  miserably. 

"You  tell  me  in  one  breath  that  you  love  me,  in 
the  next  you  tell  me  not  to  touch  you,  not  to  look  at 
you.  What  do  you  think  I  am  made  of?"  he  cried 
out  strongly. 

"Mine  the  fault,  mine  the  madness;  forget  it  and 
forget  me,  I  pray  you !  In  pity,  forget  me !" 

"Tis  a  woman  who  speaks  of  forgetting!"  he 
cried  bitterly. 

"When  it  is  her  duty,"  she  answered  with  a  moan. 


The  Fever  of  Life  295 

"I  will  never  forget  you,  Damaris !  How  can  I, 
knowing — " 

"Truly  you  will  forget  me,  truly  you  must." 

"Never,  while  my  blood  runs  red." 

For  a  time  she  did  not  answer,  and  when  she  spoke 
at  last  it  seemed  that  she  had  crossed  over  a  great 
river,  where  he  might  not  follow.  Her  brows  were 
drawn  over  her  sorrowful  eyes,  her  small  hands 
clenched  in  her  lap,  but  her  voice  was  steady  and 
calm. 

"Let  us  reason  together  a  little,  Martin,  while 
there  is  yet  time.  Let  us  be  brave  nor  give  ourselves 
up  to  this  madness.  'Tis  I  who  have  brought  this 
misfortune  upon  us,  therefore  mine  the  greater 
burden.  My  case  is  indeed  grievous  without  your 
reproaches.  You  have  saved  my  life;  help  me  to 
keep  my  word,  for  keep  it  I  will,  come  good  or  come 
ill,  as  surely  as  I  am  my  father's  daughter." 

"Ho,  shipwrecked  mariners,  shall  I  swim  to  the 
rescue?"  there  came  a  voice  from  the  landing.  "Art 
hard  on  a  bank?"  asked  Mr.  Yonge  gayly. 

Captain  Maynard  took  up  his  oars  and  brought 
the  boat  in  to  the  shore. 

"Oddsfish !  two  boats  ?"  questioned  Mr.  Yonge. 
"In  case  the  peace  were  broken,  mayhap  ?" 

"We  had  a  trial ;  Mistress  Damaris  won,"  replied 
Maynard  pleasantly.  "You  will  escort  Mistress 
Damaris.  Do  not  wait  for  me,  I  will  delay  some 
time  making  fast." 

Mr.  Yonge  offered  his  arm  with  a  bow,  Mistress 
Damaris  took  it  somewhat  wearily. 

"I  believe  that  I  forgot  to  thank  you,"  she  said, 
turning  to  Maynard,  who  occupied  himself  with  the 


296  The  Carolinians 

ropes.  Her  words  were  light,  but  there  was  in  her 
eyes  a  look  that  he  understood. 

"Be  it  as  you  say,"  he  answered  even  as  lightly, 
and  standing  he  watched  them  disappear,  swallowed 
up  in  the  blackness  of  the  shadowy  forest.  Then  he 
took  up  his  rifle,  walking  stealthily  up  the  bank  to 
where  the  caique  had  been  concealed  in  the  mouth 
of  the  stream.  Of  Indians  there  was  no  sign  save 
a  slight  parting  of  the  bamboo  vines.  He  struck  a 
light  and  examined  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  At  the 
tallness  of  a  man's  heart  he  found  his  bullet  imbedded 
in  the  tree. 

"It  is  an  infernal  pity,"  he  said  wrathfully.  "Hell 
is  too  cool  for  the  scoundrel." 

He  walked  home  by  the  house  of  the  overseer,  to 
warn  him  to  have  his  scouts  on  the  lookout ;  also  to 
send  notice  to  the  captain  of  the  district,  for  the 
Province  was  divided  into  the  same,  with  an  organ- 
ized patrol,  though  indeed,  in  cases  like  the  present, 
little  could  be  accomplished  on  account  of  the  spar- 
sity  of  settlement  in  the  well-nigh  trackless  forest. 
Then  with  slow  steps  and  a  heavy  heart  he  walked 
home  in  the  starlight,  thinking  of  Damaris. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE    HEART   OF   THE   FOREST 

"And  stand  indebted  over  and  above, 
In  love  and  service  to  you  evermore." 

— Merchant  of  Venice. 
"Is  there  any  way  to  show  such  friendship?" 

—Much  Ado  About. 

Spring  comes  early  to  the  coastlands  of  lower 
Carolina ;  the  early  days  of  February  found  the  sap 
all  a-glee  bursting  into  emerald  buds.  Like  thick 
white  fingers  the  stiff  twigs  of  the  plum  tree  were 
thrusting  through  the  leafless  tracery  of  purple- 
brown  vistas ;  peach  blossoms  wove  pink  webs  across 
the  bare  brown  limbs,  shaming  the  unclad  trees; 
maples,  their  fringes  vivid  with  the  glad  new  pulse- 
beat  of  nature,  raised  the  ensign  of  spring  against 
the  soft  blue  of  the  sky;  high  up  the  "red  bud" 
sunned  its  veils  of  rosy  purple ;  and  close  to  the  teem- 
ing earth,  matted  and  moss-bound,  violets  clustered 
in  fragrant  lairs. 

A  flaming  tanager,  daring  and  coquetting  with 
its  sober-colored  mate,  fluttered  and  darted  from 
Yaupon  to  sassafras  shrub ;  a  dove  crooned  monoton- 
ously on  the  top  of  a  tall  dead  pine ;  cooters  sunned 
themselves  luxuriously ;  parrakeets  screamed  as  they 
flew  heavily  from  limb  to  limb;  a  rabbit  scuttled 
through  the  rustling  dead-wood. 


298  The  Carolinians 

Along  a  forest  road,  sodden  and  puncheon  built 
on  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  Captain  Maynard  rode 
slowly,  his  bridle  slack  upon  the  burnished  neck  of 
his  tall  chestnut  hunter.  It  was  a  day  for  idleness, 
a  day  for  dreamy  loitering,  and  the  Captain,  woods- 
man that  he  was  and  keenly  alive  to  nature  and  its 
moods,  though  always  himself  dominant,  gave  him- 
self up  to  the  listless  grace  of  the  day.  He  was 
returning  from  some  mission  to  a  friendly  chief. 
There  had  been  a  question  of  a  fugitive  of  blood 
being  given  up  by  one  tribe  to  the  family  of  the 
murdered  in  the  other;  the  Governor  had  been 
appealed  to,  and  Captain  Maynard  had  been 
despatched  to  adjust  the  difficulty.  With  his  con- 
sent his  escort  had  left  him  some  miles  back,  riding 
to  the  town  at  quickened  pace,  while  he  loitered  in 
the  budding  forest. 

Such  missions  to  Indian  chiefs  were  not  unusual ; 
indeed  it  were  probable  that  the  colonists  and  the 
savages,  who  were  of  a  milder  nature  here  than  to 
the  northward,  might  have  lived  upon  terms  of 
mutual  friendship  and  protection  had  it  not  been  in 
large  part  for  the  faults  of  the  colonists  themselves. 
As  early  as  1520  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  had 
aroused  in  the  hearts  of  the  Indians  the  most 
implacable  hatred  by  his  treacherous  carrying  away 
of  Florida  Indians  into  captivity  in  New  Spain. 

Later  Spanish  and  French,  alike  unscrupulous,  had 
used  the  Indians  as  a  means  of  venting  their  national 
and  religious  enmity  against  the  English  of  Carolina, 
whom  they  regarded  as  interlopers  upon  the  lands 
claimed  by  themselves,  constantly  inciting  them  to 
murder  and  pillage  of  the  outlying  settlements. 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  299 

Furthermore,  the  injustice  and  greed  of  the 
English  colonists  themselves,  their  want  of  faith,  and 
the  introduction  of  rum,  stirred  up  constant  and 
revengeful  hostilities. 

Thinking  in  grave  fashion  of  some  troublesome 
matters  that  had  come  to  his  notice  during  his  recent 
visit  to  the  Indian  village,  Captain  Maynard  started 
suddenly  when  through  the  greening  vista,  just 
ahead  of  him,  he  spied  a  man  who  had  ridden  his 
horse  close  to  the  roadside  and  was  leaning  heavily 
against  a  young  pine. 

"Something  wrong!"  he  exclaimed,  dropping  his 
hand  lightly  upon  his  holster.  As  he  rode  nearer 
the  man  did  not  move.  In  appearance  he  was  a 
gentleman,  well  mounted.  "By  my  soul,  'tis  Mr. 
Francis  Yonge  keeping  tryst  with  some  Dryad,"  he 
said  with  relief.  Aloud  he  called  as  he  lightly  rode 
up: 

"Good-morrow,  Mr.  Yonge ;  comes  she  late  to  the 
tryst  ?" 

"Nay,  this  time  she  has  come  too  soon,  and  'tis 
my  head  and  not  my  heart  she  has  struck,  by  the 
Lord  Harry!"  answered  Mr.  Yonge,  with  a  sorry 
attempt  at  gaiety,  pressing  his  forehead  with  a  rueful 
smile.  "And  I  swear  I  was  a-bed  with  the  fowls  last 
night ;  I  can't  even  console  myself  with  the  memory 
of  over-night  mirth.  I  supped  upon  porridge  and 
milk  and  was  wakened  before  the  break  of  the  morn 
by  a  shrill  Scotch  housewife  beating  her  maid  for 
sloth.  Nay,  but  the  Devil  is  in  my  head,  I  am 
thinking !"  he  ended  dismally,  while  a  contraction  of 
pain  set  itself  in  agony  on  his  face,  that  had  grown 
of  a  sickly  pallor,  greenish  and  mottled. 


300  The  Carolinians 

Captain  Maynard  regarded  him  closely,  then 
backed  his  horse  some  paces  away  with  an  exclama- 
tion of  dismay. 

"Well,"  asked  Mr.  Yonge  faintly,  "dost  like  the 
look  of  his  majesty  in  my  brain?" 

"  'Tis  the  small-pox !"  spoke  Maynard  compas- 
sionately. 

"Small-pox!"  shouted  Mr.  Yonge;  "small-pox! 
You  jest,  man;  'tis  the  disease  of  vermin." 

"  'Tis  the  disease  of  the  stricken,"  replied  the  other 
gently. 

"Small-pox!  Faugh!"  Mr.  Yonge  shook  his 
ruffled  hands  with  a  gesture  of  disgust  as  though  he 
would  cast  the  horror  from  him.  "Filthy  pest !  Hie 
you  straitly  away,  Captain,  and  fortune  grant  you 
be  not  already  endangered." 

"And  you  ?"  asked  the  other. 

"I,  oh  I  ?  By  my  soul,  I  will  lie  here  and  rot  in 
the  forest.  Tis  long  since  the  plague  has  been  in 
the  town,  and  God  forbid  that  I  should  be  the  one 
to  carry  it.  Never  will  Francis  Yonge  be  the  bearer 
of  a  pest.  Damme,  damme,  damme,  'tis  a  filthy 
world !  Tarry  not,  Captain ;  fly  away  to  the  town. 
I  am  become  an  outcast  and  a  menace!"  he  spoke 
with  extremest  disgust. 

"Whence  have  you  brought  the  disease  ?  I  know 
of  none  hereabouts." 

"How  do  I  know  ?"  asked  Yonge  irritably.  "I  do 
not  ride  abroad  seeking  such  foulness."  For  a  space 
he  considered,  then  he  cried:  "Ah,  like  enough! 
Zounds,  I  have  it!  Some  days  ago,  while  riding 
near  the  plantation,  I  came  upon  a  comely  half-breed 
girl  lounging  before  a  cabin.  I  did  but  fillip  her 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  301 

under  the  chin  and  asked  her  what  ailed  her  that  she 
was  vaporing  like  a  woman  of  fashion.  A  pest  upon 
women !" 

"Meseems  'tis  a  pest  upon  you.  Will  you  never 
have  done  with  them  ?" 

"Yes,  in  heaven,"  he  answered  lugubriously,  and 
fell  to  pressing  his  brows. 

Captain  Maynard  looked  at  him  steadily  for  some 
moments ;  several  moments  more  he  spent  flicking  off 
the  needles  of  a  Turk-head  pine  with  his  whip. 

"I  know  of  a  place  where  you  may  lie  in  safety," 
he  spoke  quietly  at  the  end,  turning  his  horse  about. 
"Do  you  think  that  you  could  ride  a  mile  or  two  back 
into  the  forest  ?" 

"Not  with  you,  I  swear!"  cried  Francis  Yonge 
resolutely,  though  he  swayed  in  his  saddle.  "Ride 
to  the  town  and  leave  me,  I  tell  you ;  I'll  have  none 
of  your  company." 

"Don't  be  a  fool!"  answered  Maynard  roughly; 
then  he  caught  his  companion's  bridle  rein,  wheeled 
both  horses  about,  rode  backward  some  hundred 
paces,  then  turned  sharply  to  the  left  through  a  trail, 
Mr.  Yonge,  now  far  spent  with  the  sickness,  remon- 
strating brokenly  the  while. 

"I  say  'tis  madness,  damnable  madness;  turn  me 
loose !" 

"Don't  exhaust  yourself  with  remonstrance;  you 
have  need  of  all  of  your  strength.  I  am  taking  you 
to  an  old  cabin  I  bought  from  a  settler;  I  use  it 
sometimes  in  hunting.  You  will  lie  there  more  com- 
fortably than  in  the  forest,"  replied  Maynard  firmly. 

"There  you  will  leave  me !"  urged  the  other. 


302  The  Carolinians 

"Nay,  I  have  a  mind  to  be  a  woodsman  for  a 
while ;  the  air  of  the  wilderness  agrees  well  with  my 
constitution,"  replied  the  other  imperturbably. 

"You  are  a  reckless  fool !"  groaned  Yonge. 

"Better  a  fool  than  a  knave,"  answered  the  other 
calmly. 

"And  wherefore  either  ?  Leave  me  alone  with  my 
loathesomeness,"  he  begged.  "Alone  I  will  die  or 
alone  I  will  mend." 

"Not  so,"  said  the  other  shortly,  "you  must  put  up 
with  my  company  as  best  you  may,  for  tarry  with 
you  I  will,  stand  heaven  to  witness  !" 

"Of  all  fools  you  are  the  most  infernal,"  said 
Yonge  angrily.  Then  the  fever  of  the  illness 
increasing  upon  him,  his  head  grew  light  and  he 
began  singing  at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

"  'Si  c'est  un  crime  de  1'aimer 
On  n'en  doit  justement  blamer 
Que  les  beautes  qui  sont  en  elle.'  " 

Singing,  he  swayed  unsteadily  in  his  saddle. 
Maynard  fell  back,  steadying  him  firmly  with  his 
arm,  averting  as  well  as  he  might  his  face  from  his 
plague-stricken  comrade.  Again  Francis  Yonge 
took  up  his  chanson : 

"  'La  faute  en  est  aux  dieux 
Qui  la  firent  si  belle 
Et  non  pas  a  mes  yeux.'  " 

And  so  at  a  snail's  pace  through  the  forest  rode 
they,  the  shrill  song,  the  meaningless  laughter  fright- 
ening the  chattering  squirrels  and  timid  wood  crea- 
tures back  into  their  coverts;  upon  the  face  of  one 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  303 

man  ghastly  glee  and  the  spotted  flush  of  fever,  upon 
the  other  the  determined  look  of  a  man  who  knows 
and  dares  his  duty. 

To  the  cabin  they  came  at  last.  A  rude  affair  it 
was,  such  as  were  built  by  the  first  pioneers  in  the 
wilderness ;  in  the  corner  a  couch  of  deerskins,  also 
a  cupboard  containing  still  a  supply  of  simple  food. 

Captain  Maynard  half  carried  his  comrade  to  ths 
couch,  then  he  opened  the  windows  to  let  in  the  sweet 
air  of  the  forest,  and  kindled  upon  the  rough  hearth 
a  fire  of  brushwood  to  make  the  room  dry  and 
wholesome. 

Through  the  tedious  days  that  followed,  albeit  the 
sickness  was  of  mild  form,  Maynard  nursed  his 
patient  with  untiring  gentleness  and  patience.  He 
doctored  him  with  simples  that  he  had  learned  in 
his  camp  life,  fed  him  upon  broth  of  Indian  meal, 
and  partridges  that  he  shot  with  reluctance  because 
of  the  mating  time. 

The  day  after  their  coming  to  the  cabin  a  friendly 
Indian,  whom  Captain  Maynard  had  once  benefitted, 
came  by  while  the  latter  was  chopping  wood  and 
whistling  briskly  to  himself.  Seeing  him  the  Indian 
gave  a  grunt  of  satisfaction  and  began  to  approach. 

"Stay  where  you  are,  Little  Crowfoot,"  called 
Maynard,  adding  the  Indian  name  of  small-pox. 
The  redskin  started  to  run ;  the  Captain  ordered  him 
to  stand,  and  he  stood  as  though  rooted  to  the  spot, 
a  statue  of  copper  bronze,  face  impassive,  eyes  alert. 
"Little  Crowfoot  is  a  good  Indian,  good  Indian  the 
white  man's  friend;  great  white  chief  the  friend  of 
the  Indian,"  said  Maynard. 


304  The  Carolinians 

The  Indian  grunted  gutturally,  making  signs  of 
friendship  and  satisfaction. 

"Little  Crowfoot  must  go  to  the  Governor  and 
carry  a  message  from  his  friend  in  the  forest." 

Again  the  Indian  grunted  and  signified  acquies- 
cence. 

"Go  to  the  Governor,  the  great  chief  of  all  the 
pale  faces  and  the  great  friend  and  protector  of  all 
friendly  Indians;  tell  him  that  Captain  Maynard 
sends  greeting  to  his  chief  and  says  that  he  and  his 
friend  Mr.  Francis  Yonge  are  safe,  but  detained  by 
affairs  in  the  wilderness." 

The  Indian  stood  still,  gazing  imperturbably  ahead 
of  him. 

"Off  with  you !"  cried  the  Captain. 

"Great  chief,  little  redman ;  great  chief,  big  word ; 
little  redman,  little  word.  Great  chief  not  much 
believe,  little  redman  not  much  live." 

"Precious  of  your  skin  are  you,  you  rascal," 
laughed  the  Captain.  "Little  Crowfoot  much  wise 
man."  Then  he  set  him  to  thinking  what  was  to  be 
done.  He  could  send  no  letter,  fearing  to  send  the 
disease  therein ;  but  some  pledge  he  must  send  to 
insure  the  credibility  of  his  messenger,  his  safety  as 
well.  He  drew  from  his  finger  his  signet  ring  and 
tossed  it  into  a  clear  pool  of  the  stream  hard  by; 
there  he  let  it  remain  some  minutes.  The  Indian, 
thinking  it  some  spell  or  incantation,  fastened  his 
mystified  eyes  on  the  white  man. 

"Take  the  ring,  Little  Crowfoot;  now  it  can  do 
no  harm.  Give  it  to  the  Governor  and  all  will  be 
well." 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  305 

The  savage  fished  out  the  glittering  bauble  with 
fearful  fingers.  Something  of  the  breath  of  the 
Great  Spirit  must  cling  to  it,  he  thought,  all  of  magic 
and  mystery  appealing  to  his  child-like  mind. 
"Good,"  he  grunted,  and  was  off  through  the  track- 
less forest  like  an  arrow  sped  swift  from  a  bow. 

"Come  back  to-morrow,  Little  Crowfoot,"  called 
the  Captain  after  him. 

"Good,"  grunted  the  Indian,  and  disappeared 
behind  the  tree  boles  with  long,  stealthy  strides,  one 
foot  moving  straight  in  front  of  the  other. 

Each  day  that  followed  he  came  to  the  other  side 
of  the  stream,  standing  there  in  statuesque  silence 
until  hailed  by  the  Captain.  Sometimes  he  brought 
a  basket  of  Indian  meal,  sometimes  a  gourd  of  milk, 
again  a  brace  of  wild  fowl,  a  haunch  of  venison,  or 
food  for  the  horses.  Each  day  the  Captain  threw 
into  the  stream  a  coin,  each  day  the  redskin  fished 
it  out  in  solemn  silence,  then  disappeared  like  a 
shadow  before  the  sun. 

Maynard  had  built  for  himself  a  shelter  of  wattled 
boughs  against  the  hut  wall  close  to  the  door.  Hard 
by  the  horses  were  staked  close  to  a  fire  that  warned 
off  night  prowlers.  There  he  could  hear  the  restless 
tossings  and  mutterings  of  his  patient.  Sometimes 
he  talked  of  Damaris,  of  her  eyes  like  the  stars,  and 
of  her  coldness  of  constitution,  wherein  she  was  like 
the  Alps  themselves ;  sometimes  he  maundered  about 
Nelly  and  lillies  and  pomegranate  flowers;  again  it 
was  in  broken  snatches  that  he  talked  of  a  certain 
Jennie  Cresset  of  Bath  Town,  than  whose  were  eyes 
none  blacker  nor  breasts  whiter ;  of  a  Lady  Geraldine 
he  now  and  then  spoke.  He  reminded  her  some- 


306  Tne  Carolinians 

times  that  she  was  exceeding  fair  and  many  and 
broad  her  acres,  but  that  her  wilful  temper  would 
ever  be  her  undoing.  Always,  though,  the  wander- 
ing talk  came  back  to  Damaris  with  her  laughter, 
her  red  lips  and  her  sunny  hair ;  he  raved  about  being 
staked  in  the  sun  and  plead  with  her  to  lay  upon  his 
burning  lips  her  soft  hands  fresh  and  fragrant  as 
rose  leaves.  Then  it  was  that  with  hard-pressed  lips 
Maynard  gave  him  his  cooling  draught,  then  dashed 
out  into  the  open,  breathing  hard  and  fast,  breaking 
through  the  undergrowth  about  the  clearing-,  fright- 
ening the  skulking  creatures  back  into  their  lairs. 

To  him  was  Damaris  as  the  sun  in  the  sky  by  day 
and  the  stars  in  the  firmament  by  night,  and  so  to 
him  'twas  a  passing  marvel  how  one  man's  mind 
could  hold  more  than  one  woman. 

'Twas  a  right  tedious  waiting  for  the  Captain,  the 
inactivity  galled  his  vigorous  spirit.  Within  during 
the  long  hours  his  patient  drowsed  or  lay  in  unwill- 
ing consciousness,  while  his  guardian,  not  satisfied 
to  pass  beyond  earshot,  strode  around  the  hut  like 
a  trapped  beast  or  lay  on  the  ground  looking  up 
through  the  tall  pines  that  grew  about  it,  and  then 
was  he  the  more  content.  The  warm  pulse  of  the 
earth  that  teemed  with  the  energies  of  powers  unborn 
quickened  the  red  blood  in  his  veins,  freed  him  from 
the  conventions  of  life,  made  him  the  full  man  for 
whom  the  round  earth  and  the  fullness  thereof  were 
but  made  for  conquest ;  nothing  seemed  too  great  or 
too  daring  for  his  strong  right  arm  thewed  like  the 
fleet  deer. 

Then  he  sprang  up  with  a  start.  Along  the  warm 
earth  he  caught  the  scent  of  a  red  deer.  Close 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  307 

through  the  greyling  thicket  tracery,  now  sapping 
into  green,  he  saw  the  full  eyes,  the  head  well  set 
and  keen,  the  antlers  many-tined,  of  a  goodly  stag. 
He  sighted  with  his  two  arms  gun-wise;  he  dared 
not  shoot,  for  his  patient  slept.  The  noble  creature 
looked  nor  moved,  then  with  head  thrown  back  and 
nostrils  wide,  ran  with  the  splendid  motion  of  his 
tribe  into  the  swamp  beyond. 

Other  times  grey  foxes  slunk  stealthily  along  logs 
and  coverts,  and  when  he  sat  in  the  twilight  the 
barking  of  wolves,  the  cries  of  catamounts,  and  the 
weird  voices  of  night  creatures  came  from  the  uneasy 
heart  of  the  forest. 

At  last  Francis  Yonge  sat  with  him  in  the  warm 
sunshine  before  the  cabin.  Paler  he  was  and  more 
languid,  but  his  face  was  unmarked,  thanks  to  a 
cunning  ointment  of  bear's  grease  and  simples,  the 
secret  of  which  Maynard  had  learned  from  a  Yamas- 
see  medicine-man.  This,  however,  he  knew  not,  and 
as  he  gazed  at  his  shrunken  wrists  under  his  dingy 
ruffles  he  frowned  in  troubled  wise. 

About  a  tall  maple  there  clambered  a  grape  vine 
of  the  bigness  of  a  man's  body,  near  the  ground 
forming  a  loop  that  served  as  a  lounge.  This  May- 
nard cushioned  with  pine  tufts  and  deerskins  and 
here  Yonge  was  wont  to  lie  while  the  blood  grew 
red  again  in  his  veins  and  the  slack  muscles  tight- 
ened. There  he  lay  dreamily  watching  his  com- 
panion busying  himself  with  chopping  wood,  polish- 
ing a  horn  or  cooking  their  meals  over  the  fire  low- 
burned  and  glowing.  One  day  as  he  swung  himself 
idly  in  his  hammock,  and  as  he  watched  Maynard 
stir  the  mush  and  broil  the  venison  steaks  over  the 


308  The  Carolinians 

coals,  it  came  to  him  suddenly  and  as  a  shock  that 
in  spite  of  the  injurious  part  he,  Francis  Yonge,  had 
played  him  in  the  past,  he  had  learned  to  love  that 
strong  man  with  brown  face  and  keen  blue  eyes,  his 
long  arms  and  woman's  deftness.  Could  he,  would 
he  marry  the  woman  whom  they  both  loved  and  who 
loved  the  man  whom  he  loved,  he  sometimes  won- 
dered, as  though  speculating  about  another  ?  There 
were  other  women ;  there  was  Lady  Geraldine  with 
her  broad  acres  and  her  Juno-like  form — she  was  not 
averse  to  him  as  her  letters  still  averred.  Nay,  he 
would  marry  Damaris,  marry  her  he  would  if  a 
thousand  devils  and  a  thousand  saints  stood  in  the 
way !  he  cried,  slapping  his  thigh.  "Should  the  pulse 
of  a  man's  red  blood  be  stayed  for  a  woman's  pale 
whim  ?" 

There  were  days  when  they  held  much  converse 
together.  Sometimes  it  happened  that  the  Captain 
told  of  his  life  in  the  woods,  of  the  wars  with  the 
Indians,  of  the  customs  and  traditions  of  their  tribes, 
of  the  war-dance,  of  the  calumet,  of  the  scourge  of 
the  small-pox  among  them,  of  the  trading-girls  who 
were  bargained  to  other  tribes  as  chattels,  of  their 
tribal  fealty  and  implacable  revenge.  Then  again 
the  talk  fell  upon  the  great  London  across  seas,  and 
Mr.  Yonge  told  of  its  fashions  and  its  follies,  of  its 
extravagances  and  its  vices  sanctioned  by  the  beau 
monde. 

"There  are  many  beautiful  women  there,  and 
much  given  to  affairs  of  gallantry,  are  there  not?" 
questioned  his  hearer. 

"Tolerable  prettyish,  though  they  be  too  greatly 
addicted  to  beauty's  arts  to  please  my  palate.  Faugh, 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  309 

one  ever  tastes  the  rouge  on  their  lips !  Then,  too, 
their  passion  for  cards  is  such  that  they  even  neglect 
intrigue,  much  less  love-making." 

"I  thought  they  were  vastly  fine,"  said  his  com- 
panion, with  a  sinking  heart. 

"Fine  enough  for  those  who  love  their  fineness. 
As  for  me,  I've  grown  passing  weary  of  their  airs 
and  vapors.  I'm  not  the  man  to  love  women  who 
do  hold  it  a  disgrace  to  be  fond  of  their  husbands  or 
consider  it  a  fault  to  appear  fond  or  be  seen  in  public 
with  them.  And  Lord,  their  prodigious  extrava- 
gance ;  'tis  not  to  be  borne !  I  have  a  few  little  costly 
virtues  myself,"  laughed  Mr.  Yonge.  "Heigho,  I 
warrant  after  all  that  with  them  the  happiest  mar- 
ried man  is  the  one  whose  wife  is  dead.  There 
comes  our  dusky  Mercury.  I  wonder  what  he  is 
bringing  us  to-day  ?" 

The  days  of  convalescence  were  over,  the  last  drop 
of  poison  had  been  burned  from  his  blood  in  the  pure 
sun-bright  air.  In  the  afternoon  they  were  to  return 
to  the  town,  and  always  in  the  mind  of  Francis 
Yonge  was  one  haunting  question  that  he  dared  not 
ask,  for  doubts  about  his  handsome  countenance  were 
ever  with  him,  though  a  reasonable  shame  had  with- 
held the  question  until  this  last.  Maynard  sat 
whittling  a  stock  of  hackberry  into  a  staff,  whistling 
as  he  worked;  perhaps  he  too  was  thinking  of 
to-morrow,  though  he  gave  no  sign — as  careless  he 
appeared  as  the  wood-pecker  that  was  drumming  on 
a  dog-wood  tree  hard  by. 

Yonge  gave  a  laugh  that  was  scarcely  merry, 
strolled  a  few  paces  with  halting  step  toward  the 


310  The  Carolinians 

stream  that  held  a  shadowed  pool,  then  reseated  him- 
self impatiently. 

"I  warrant  I  am  pocked  like  a  London  mud-lark," 
he  hazarded  at  last,  with  a  sorry  affectation  of  in- 
difference and  in  a  voice  that  seemed  scarcely  his 
own. 

"Beauty  doesn't  count  for  much  in  a  man,"  an- 
swered Maynard,  smiling  grimly  to  himself.  "  'Tis 
the  ready  tongue  that  counts  with  the  women." 

The  face  of  Francis  Yonge  had  grown  white  and 
drawn,  and  he  breathed  hard. 

"No  dainty  woman  would  marry  a  plague-pitted 
man!"  he  cried  with  disgust,  throwing  his  open 
hands  from  him  with  loathing. 

"Nay,  friend  Yonge,"  laughed  Maynard,  "dis- 
turb not  yourself.  Your  complexion  is  as  smooth 
as  the  chicken-shinned  Duchesses  of  Versailles." 

"The  powers  be  praised!"  ejeculated  Francis 
Yonge  fervently;  then  there  was  silence. 

"I  owe  it  all  to  you!"  he  said  warmly,  after  a 
little. 

"Nay,  to  the  bear's  grease,"  answered  Maynard 
indifferently. 

"I  would  have  died  had  it  not  been  for  you.  I 
can  never  thank  you  enough!" 

"Thank  your  constitution.  'Tis  a  good  one,  de- 
spite the  tricks  you  have  played  it." 

"You  did  not  catch  the  plague?" 

"No." 

"You  were  in  full  danger  of  doing  so?" 

"Mayhap." 

"  'Twas  a  deed  of  passing  generosity !" 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  311 

"Oddsfish,  man,  and  you  keep  on  with  this  I  am 
like  to  wish  that  I  had  never  fallen  in  with  you !" 
He  moved  away  and  threw  a  pine  cone  at  the  unof- 
fending wood-pecker  tapping  so  loudly  at  nature's 
blind  store-house. 

"I  saw  bear  tracks  over  in  the  swamp  yonder  this 
morning,"  he  said  when  he  reseated  himself. 

"Blessed  be  the  bears,  I  am  eternally  grateful  to 
them!  Methinks  I  will  change  the  ancestral  grey- 
hound on  the  family  crest  for  a  bear,"  answered 
Francis  Yonge,  stroking  his  smooth  cheek  with  sat- 
isfaction. 

"Were  we  not  leaving  this  evening,  I  would  be 
after  him  early  to-morrow." 

"Think  you  that  we  will  certainly  ride  to  the 
town  this  evening?"  asked  Francis  Yonge.  The 
longing  for  the  old  life  was  upon  him  to-day  and  a 
new  restlessness. 

"I  see  no  reason  to  prevent.  Little  Crowfoot  not 
failing  us  with  our  wardrobes,  there's  not  a  cloud 
to  be  seen."  Captain  Maynard  rose,  scanning  the 
sky  and  the  forest  with  practiced  eye.  "Faith,  there 
comes  the  rascal  at  last.  Ho,  Little  Crowfoot,  put 
down  your  pack  and  wait,  we  have  need  of  you. 
Now  'tis  time  for  our  bonfire."  He  took  up  an  arm- 
ful of  lightwood  sticks  and  went  toward  the  cabin. 
Some  he  threw  under  it,  some  on  the  roof  and  some 
into  the  cracks. 

"Must  you  burn  it?"  asked  Yonge  reluctantly. 
"Truth,  I  have  acquired  a  fair  affection  for  the 
shanty." 


312  The  Carolinians 

"Oddsfish,  man,  would  you  speed  the  plague  by 
the  first  thieving  redskin  who  skulked  around  ?"  He 
disappeared  within,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  flames 
burned  redly  there.  Maynard  came  forging  out  in  a 
volume  of  smoke.  "  'Twill  make  a  right  merry  bon- 
fire," he  said  cheerfully,  wiping  his  eyes  with  the 
sleeve  of  his  coat. 

"I  believe  that  you  like  to  do  it,"  said  Yonge  re- 
proachfully. 

"Oh,  I  like  it  well  enough.  I  like  to  do  things, 
to  feel  that  I  can,"  answered  the  other,  watching  the 
work  of  destruction  with  a  glowing  face. 

"You  are  nothing  better  than  a  savage  after  all," 
said  Yonge.  "From  harrying  beasts  and  savages 
you  have  grown  like  unto  them  that  dwell  in  wig- 
wams." 

"So,"  said  the  other  good-humoredly,  "so  'tis  a 
man  who  does  and  dares  it  does  not  much  matter." 
His  eyes  followed  the  scarlet  flames  as  they  licked 
through  the  roof  and  tongued  upwards  to  the  sky. 
"So  'tis  a  right  pretty  blaze ;  but  now  for  our  bath. 
Off  with  your  clothes  and  in  with  them !" 

With  quick  fingers  he  tore  off  his  garments, 
throwing  them  into  the  flames,  watching  them 
shrivel  and  blacken  with  boyish  glee.  Mr.  Yonge 
removed  his  in  more  leisurely  fashion,  giving  a  sigh 
as  what  had  once  been  good  cloth  and  fair  linen 
were  consumed,  shivering  a  little  as  he  looked  down 
at  his  nude  body.  Last  of  all  they  flung  in  their 
wigs,  ragged  and  uncurled,  and  stood  with  bare 
heads  close-cropped.  After  all,  a  man  of  fashion 
is  little  more  than  another — shorn  of  his  plumes. 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  313 

"Now  for  water,"  cried  Maynard,  running  lightly 
across  and  plunging  into  the  pool.  Again  more  leis- 
urely his  companion  followed  him.  They  scoured 
themselves  with  the  fine  sand  of  the  stream ;  Yonge 
with  shiverings  and  sighs  and  complainings,  for  all 
of  rudeness  was  new  to  him,  never  before  had  he 
stood  unclad  in  the  open  nor  plunged  into  the  run- 
ning waters. 

"Now  for  the  fire,"  called  Maynard,  "else  you 
will  be  taking  a  chill  and  spoiling  your  complex- 
ion !"  He  had  laughed  and  floundered  and  puffed 
like  a  porpoise  while  his  friend  grumbled;  it  was 
a  joy  to  him  to  feel  the  keen  cut  of  the  waters  and 
send  them  back  under  his  strong  arms.  He  scram- 
bled up  the  bank  for  the  bundle  of  clothing  which 
Little  Crowfoot  still  guarded  in  phlegmatic  silence, 
then  crossed  again  to  where  Yonge  stood  drying 
his  shivering  body  before  the  red  flames  of  the  crum- 
bling hut. 

Maynard  untied  the  pack,  swore  roundly,  then 
laughed  as  he  sorted  the  garments  into  two  piles. 
Into  the  one  pile  he  put  the  garments  of  the  more 
comfortable  texture,  and  that  he  spread  before  his 
companion.  It  was  a  motley's  dress,  all  orange  and 
scarlet  and  blue,  complete  even  to  the  cap,  save  the 
wand  and  bells — part  probably  of  some  nondescript 
pedler's  pack  bought  at  second-hand  from  a  play- 
actor's wardrobe  in  England.  In  the  other  lot  was 
a  pair  of  silken  trousers  of  some  rose-colored  stuff 
indifferently  thick,  once  worn  by  some  lady  of  the 
Harem  perchance,  and  probable  pirate  spoil  from 
Levantine  merchantman.  A  duck  sailor's  blouse, 


314  The  Carolinians 

fairly  adorned  with  bell  buttons  and  cordings  of 
scarlet,  he  took  with  the  trousers  for  himself,  and 
there  were  besides  two  pairs  of  raw-hide  shoes, 
hob-nailed;  two  pair  of  Indigo  woolen  hose,  and  a 
woman's  gypsy  bonnet  crowned  with  a  wealth  of 
pink  roses,  with  neck-strings  of  grass-green  taffety. 

A  purchaser  of  costumes  for  the  first  time,  Little 
Crowfoot  had  indulged  his  fantastic  taste  with  a 
savage's  delight  in  color.  Now  he  looked  on,  well 
pleased  with  his  handiwork,  almost  a  smile  upon  his 
saturnine  countenance. 

"I  swear  I  will  not  wear  them!"  said  Yonge  with 
vexation. 

"Just  as  you  please.  Mother-naked  is  the  fash- 
ion of  the  wilderness,  but  I  purpose  to  ride  into 
town !" 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry!  I'll  not  wear  a  motley's 
habit.  I'll  be  thinking  and  talking  like  a  fool!"  he 
raged. 

"Garments  fashion  the  man,"  mumbled  Maynard. 
He  was  pulling  on  his  rose-colored  trousers  with  the 
draw-string  in  his  mouth,  then  he  looked  down  at 
himself  and  swore  again.  "You  thieving  scoun- 
drel, what  did  you  do  with  the  money  we  gave  you. 
that  you  bring  us  flimsy  toggery  like  this?" 

"Much  fine  clothes,  much  fine  money!"  replied 
the  savage,  with  a  grunt  of  satisfaction.  For  the 
first  time  in  his  life  he  was  enjoying  part  of  the 
pleasures  of  a  tiring  woman,  and  he  was  well 
pleased. 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  315 

Maynard  drew  on  his  sailor's  blouse,  which  was 
a  little  chary  of  meeting  the  rose-colored  trousers, 
and  sat  down  to  put  on  his  shoes. 

With  a  windy  sigh  Yonge  picked  up  his  parti- 
colored garments. 

"I've  a  great  mind  to  wring  his  damned  neck!" 
he  said  irately. 

"It  isn't  worth  while  or  I  would  have  done  it  long 
since,"  answered  Maynard  cheerfully  as  he  laced 
up  his  hob-nailed  shoes,  his  own  vexation  swal- 
lowed up  in  enjoyment  of  the  wrath  of  the  elegant 
Mr.  Yonge. 

With  another  volley  of  vigorous  expletives,  Yonge 
pulled  on  his  motley  jerkin.  Some  bells  still  clung  to 
it  and  tinkled  musically. 

"Here,  take  a  pull  at  the  brandy;  'twill  hearten 
you  up  and  save  you  a  chill."  Maynard  reached 
the  bottle  that  had  fallen  from  the  pack.  "Nay,  but 
the  scurvy  redskin  has  left  us  but  one  paltry  dram — 
drink." 

Yonge  put  the  bottle  to  his  lips,  tossed  it  up,  made 
a  grimace,  and  spat  upon  the  ground. 

"Raw  Hollands,  by  the  Lord  Harry!" 

"Where  is  the  brandy  I  told  you  to  bring?"  thun- 
dered Maynard,  turning  wrathfully  upon  the  savage. 

Little  Crowfoot,  in  whom  some  of  the  courage  of 
the  brandy  still  remained,  lifted  his  closed  fist  to  his 
mouth  with  a  gesture  as  of  draining  a  bottle. 

"Great  Sachem's  fire-water,  very  much  fine  fire- 
water." 

Maynard  laughed  and  threw  a  charred  ember  at 
him. 


316  The   Carolinians 

"Go  and  catch  the  horses,  you  thieving  scoundrel ! 
He  isn't  a  bad  one,  after  all,  as  far  as  redskins  go, 
and  we've  taught  them  to  cheat,  I  guess;  and  there 
is  no  gainsaying  that  he  has  served  us  faithfully 
when  we  were  in  sorry  plight  without  him." 

Yonge,  who  finally  had  risen  to  the  occasion,  with 
his  usual  versatility  and  with  the  help  of  the  raw 
Hollands  perchance,  broke  a  spray  from  a  crab-apple 
that  flowered  hard  by,  held  it  in  the  fashion  of  a 
jester  his  wand,  and  striking  an  attitude  declaimed 
in  a  shrill  falsetto  voice,  dashing  quick-tongued  from 
his  own  improvised  nonsense  to  the  words  of  the 
master  play-wright : 

"Hail  to  the  King's  fool, 
But  greater  than  I 
Walk  unbranded 
In  the  world's  school  hard  by, 
Singing  tra-la-la! 
Singing  tra-la-la!" 

he  rattled  gaily.    Then  another  position  he  fell  into 
and  trolled: 

"  'A  fool,  a  fool!  I  met  a  fool  in  the  forest; 
A  motley   fool,  a  miserable  world! 
And  I  do  live  by  food  I  met  a  fool; 
Who  laid  him   down   to  bask  him   in   the   sun 
And  rail  on  Lady  Fortune  in  good  terms, 
In  good  set  terms  and  yet  a  motley  fool.'  " 

"And  you  like  not  that,  here  is  another;  perhaps 
'twill  set  better  to  your  mind  : 

"  'Under  the  greenwood  tree 
Who  loves  to  lie  with  me 
And  tune  his  merry  throat 
Unto  the  sweet  bird's  note. 
Come  hither,  come  hither!"  " 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  317 

"A  right  good  fool  you  make.  Little  Crowfoot 
is  a  genius.  By  my  faith,  'tis  truer  than  life ;  but  a 
truce  to  your  foolery,  we  must  be  off!" 

"Faith,  and  your  Ladyship  has  forgotten  her  bon- 
net," said  the  jester  mincingly,  tendering  to  him 
daintily  the  gaudy  headdress. 

"By  the  Lord,  I'll  set  no  such  monstrosity  upon 
my  head !"  cried  the  other  scornfully. 

"It  is  well,  the  great  Captain  acts  wisely;  he  will 
be  taken  for  a  covenant  servant,  being  close-crop- 
ped !"  smirked  Yonge. 

Maynard  walked  over  to  a  tree  where  he  had 
stretched  the  skin  of  some  small  animal.  With  a 
few  vigorous  slashings  and  lacings  he  made  of  it  a 
conical  cap.  He  raised  the  despised  gypsy  bonnet 
on  his  toe  and  was  about  to  send  it  to  the  warm 
heart  of  the  smouldering  fire  when  Little  Crowfoot 
sprang  forward  and  seized  it. 

"Very  much  fine  bonnet;  give  Little  Crowfoot, 
great  Sachem?"  he  pleaded.  Maynard  turned  off 
with  a  laugh. 

The  two  mounted  their  horses.  They  were  bare- 
backed, save  for  a  deer  skin  and  the  reins  thongs 
twisted  by  Little  Crowfoot. 

"Good !"  said  the  savage,  and  he  made  the  ges- 
tures of  respect  that  are  used  by  his  tribe  upon  meet- 
ing the  great  sachems  of  others. 

Looking  back  from  where  the  trail  turned  into  the 
forest  they  saw  Little  Crowfoot  still  standing  there, 
a  grotesque  figure  with  the  rose-crowned  bonnet 
tied  under  his  copper-colored  chin,  his  greasy  deer- 
skin coat  and  ragged  trousers  scarce  reaching  to  his 


318  The  Carolinians 

knee,  behind  him  the  red-glow  of  the  smouldering 
pile  and  the  long  plumes  of  smoke  lifting  skyward. 
Surely  a  fantastic  enough  henchman  he  was  for  the 
two  harlequin  cavaliers,  who  looked  at  each  other 
and  laughed  heartily. 

For  long  sat  Francis  Yonge  looking  at  the  ruins 
of  the  cabin  and  the  grey  arms  of  the  smoke  reach- 
ing up  through  the  green  pines.  At  the  end  he 
spoke,  and  his  voice  was  deep  with  feeling : 

"Truly,  I  have  lived  in  the  great  London  Town 
and  in  the  gay  Paris ;  I  have  housed  in  palaces  and 
companied  in  courts,  but  I  had  need  to  dwell  in  a 
hut  in  the  wilderness  to  learn  what  a  true  gentle- 
man was."  He  held  out  his  hand  to  his  comrade, 
with  a  warm  smile. 

"Nonsense !"  said  his  companion  roughly,  yet 
shaking  the  outstretched  hand  with  kindly  pressure. 
"We'll  but  call  it  quits."  Then,  touching  his  horse, 
he  fell  into  a  brisk  canter. 

"You  will  never  allow  me  to  speak  my  thanks!" 
said  Yonge  curtly,  when  he  rode  up  beside  him  again. 
Maynard  turned  and  the  two  men  looked  each  other 
full  in  the  face. 

"Between  us  there  is  no  question  of  thanks;  'tis 
the  hazard  of  fortune,  that  is  all,"  said  Maynard 
quietly. 

"Think  you  so  ?"  answered  Yonge  even  as  quietly. 
"Mayhap  the  future  will  prove  'tis  no  hazard  of 
chance ;  the  dice  of  the  gods  are  never  thrown  pur- 
poselessly." 

"If  you  wish  not  to  catch  a  chill  you  had  best  ride 
more  briskly,"  answered  Maynard. 


The  Heart  of  the  Forest  319 

"As  you  say,"  replied  Francis  Yonge.  "The  gods 
grant  that  we  meet  not  friend  nor  foe!" 

So  riding  and  chatting  in  desultory  fashion  they 
came  unto  the  town  as  the  dusk  closed  into  dark- 
ness, gaining  therein  the  safety  of  their  own  homes 
without  discovery,  to  the  exceeding  joy  of  the  gal- 
lant Mr.  Yonge,  some  time  gentleman  of  fashion, 
now  the  King's  jester. 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

DISAPPOINTMENTS 

"For  nothing  this  wide  universe  I  call, 
Save  thou,  my  rose;  in  it  thou  art  my  all." 

— Shakespeare — Sonnet. 

With  the  opening  of  March  it  became  evident  that 
matters  in  the  Province  were  fast  drawing  to  a  turb- 
ulent climax.  The  long-suffering  colonists,  seeing 
that  they  could  obtain  neither  justice  nor  indul- 
gence from  across  seas,  began  to  take  affairs  in  their 
own  hands,  and  that  right  masterfully.  For  this 
dangerous  disaffection  the  Proprietors  had  them- 
selves only  to  thank,  for  the  year  1719  had  opened 
with  flattering  prospects  of  reconciliation  and  ad- 
justment. The  people,  being  still  grateful  to  Gov- 
ernor Johnson  for  his  courage  and  promptitude  in 
destroying  the  pirates,  had  chosen  to  consider  what 
he  might  recommend,  and  their  ancient  rancor  was 
held  somewhat  in  abeyance  while  they  exerted  them- 
selves greatly  to  further  their  Lordships'  pleasure, 
taking  measures  to  force  the  payment  of  back  rents 
and  straining  every  local  resource  to  meet  the 
exigency  of  circumstance.  But  even  at  this  critical 
period  came  an  astonishing  order  from  their  Lord- 
ships, commanding  the  dissolving  of  the  Assem- 


Disappointments  321 

bly  and  the  election  of  a  new  one,  according  to  an- 
cient custom,  in  Charles  Town. 

The  said  communication  repealed  the  tax  upon 
articles  of  British  manufacture,  also  the  tax  upon 
the  Indian  trade,  thereby  depriving  the  Colony  of  its 
slender  revenues  in  the  time  of  its  greatest  stress. 

Furthermore,  there  were  instituted  sundry  injuri- 
ous limitations  which  irritated  the  people  and 
aroused  grave  suspicion  that  Trott  was  playing  them 
false. 

Resentment  had  been  growing  against  Trott,  in 
whom  were  vested  too  great  powers,  and  this  now 
reaching  a  climax,  many  grave  charges  of  corrup- 
tion were  brought  against  him,  the  more  specific  by 
Mr.  Richard  Allein,  a  prominent  attorney  lately  as- 
sociated with  him  in  the  trial  of  the  pirates. 

The  Commoners  approved  of  the  charges  against 
the  Justice,  who  claimed  that  he  could  only  be  in- 
dicted by  their  Lordships,  and  therein  he  felt  secure. 
Nevertheless,  the  Governor,  Council,  and  many 
prominent  citizens  drew  up  a  complaint  against  his 
maladministration,  which  was  forthwith  to  be  sent 
to  their  Lordships. 

When  the  Governor  received  the  fatal  communi- 
cation from  their  Lordships  he  was  sorely  tried. 
To  inform  the  people  of  its  contents  would  be  to 
straightway  undo  that  for  which  he  had  so  greatly 
striven.  Good  faith  to  their  Lordships  required  that 
the  people  should  be  informed,  but  regard  for  their 
interests  demanded  that  it  should  be  withheld. 

With  the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  that  dis- 
interested honesty  that  ever  distinguished  him,  he 


322  The   Carolinians 

chose  the  latter  course,  knowing  full  well  that  should 
it  come  to  a  point  with  their  Lordships  he  would  be 
sacrificed. 

The  Council  agreed  with  the  Governor  that  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  make  public  the  communica- 
tion, while  the  Commons  violently  denied  all  rights 
of  the  Proprietors  in  the  matter. 

Indignation  prevailed,  hot  debate  ensued,  message 
from  house  to  house  followed ;  also  a  conference  of 
both,  in  which  was  made  a  memorable  speech  by 
Justice  Trott,  which  afterwards  redounded  to  his 
credit  with  the  Proprietors.  After  serious  deliber- 
ations it  was  determined  to  send  an  envoy  to  Eng- 
land explaining  and  justifying  their  position.  Mr. 
Yonge  was  chosen  as  one  well  fitted  for  the  position 
and  gravely  accepted  the  honor  and  the  responsibil- 
ity. So  it  chanced  that  upon  the  afternoon  of  an 
early  day  in  March,  1719,  Mr.  Yonge  betook  him- 
self straightway  from  the  Council  room  to  the  Gov- 
ernor's mansion,  there  to  seek  his  lady-love. 

Mistress  Damaris  sat  in  the  drawing-room,  which 
she  had  transformed  into  a  golden  bower  with  a 
coach  load  of  jessamine  which  she  had  newly  gath- 
ered in  the  forest.  She  was  presumably  mending 
the  Governor's  ruffles,  but  the  skilful  hands  lay  idle 
in  her  lap,  and  her  listless  eyes  looked  unseeingly 
out  of  the  window.  She  had  grown  graver  in  the 
last  months,  and  when  alone  the  laughter  faded 
straightway  from  her  eyes. 

Still  and  heavy  with  perfume  was  the  air  about 
her,  not  the  shifting  of  a  shadow  disturbed  the  fra- 


Disappointments  323 

grant  silence  where  the  flowers  drowsed  in  golden 
languor. 

"News,  news,  news !"  cried  Mr.  Yonge,  sweeping 
the  floor  with  his  plumed  chapeau,  then  waving  it 
gaily  aloft. 

"Their  Lordships  have  been  pleased  to  grant  our 
requests  and  now  stands  a  good  ship  in  the  offing 
bringing  monies  abundant  for  us !"  cried  Damaris 
excitedly. 

"Nay,  not  so;  news  I  said,  not  a  miracle,"  an- 
swered Mr.  Yonge  dryly. 

"Truth,  such  would  be  a  miracle ;  but,  prithee,  tell 
me  your  news." 

"News,  news!"  he  repeatedly  earnestly. 

"And  that?"  she  asked,  looking  up  with  eager 
eyes  into  his  face,  beneath  the  excitement  of  which 
there  burned  an  unwonted  purpose. 

"The  Council  has  decided  that  since  all  letters  to 
their  Lordships  prove  unavailing,  they  will  forth- 
with send  a  special  emissary  over  seas." 

"And — "  there  was  feverish  eagerness  in  the  girl's 
eyes. 

"The  choice  hath  fallen  upon  me!" 

"Truly,  right  wisely  chosen.  Accept  my  con- 
gratulations upon  this  new  honor,"  she  said  with  a 
sigh  of  relief. 

"And — "  Mr.  Yonge  broke  off;  there  was  hesi- 
tation in  his  speech,  but  purpose  undaunted  in  his 
eyes. 

"Well?"  questioned  Damaris  anxiously. 

"So  could  matters  not  have  befallen  more  for- 
tuitously, Lady  mine;  so  have  they  made  the  way 


324  The  Carolinians 

open  for  the  journey  that  I  have  long  wished  to  take 
with  you.  Certes  you  will  go  with  me,  beloved,  so 
long  have  I  wished  and  waited  for  you  ?"  His  voice 
entreated  and  he  held  out  his  arms  beseechingly. 

"No,  no !"  she  cried  affrightedly,  shrinking  away. 

"And  wherefore,  may  I  ask?"  he  demanded 
sternly,  as  with  arms  folded  upon  his  breast  he  now 
regarded  her  searchingly. 

"Truly,  it  were  impossible!"  she  cried  resolutely. 

"And  why  impossible?  Will  you  be  so  kind  as 
to  explain  ?" 

"I  would  be  afraid — I  dare  not !"  she  cried  des- 
perately, while  her  eyes  grew  large  with  fear. 

"Truly,  your  words  are  strange.  Am  I  asking 
that  which  so  greatly  exceeds  my  prerogative?  Do 
I  not  stand  within  my  right  as  your  betrothed  hus- 
band ?  Have  you  not  promised  to  marry  me  ?  Give 
you  no  thought  to  this?  Is  your  word  then  but  an 
idle  thing?"  he  demanded  hotly. 

"My  word  is  not  an  idle  thing,"  she  cried  miser- 
ably. "And  some  day  I  will  marry  you,"  she  ended 
with  a  sob  in  her  throat. 

"See,  Mistress  Damaris,  tears  are  a  woman's 
weapon,  but  they  will  not  stay  my  purpose.  That 
some  day  has  been  too  long  delayed.  I  am  weary 
of  postponement,  I  will  no  longer  be  lightly  set 
aside!"  He  spoke  very  resolutely. 

"I  am  in  no  haste  to  wed,  I  cannot  leave  my  father. 
I  will  keep  my  promise  in  a  time  convenient  for  me!" 
she  answered  haughtily,  while  her  eyes  flashed. 


Disappointments  325 

"I  will  no  longer  be  set  aside.  Have  words  of 
mine  and  love  of  mine  no  weight  with  you?"  he 
pleaded. 

"I  am  in  no  mood  to  wed,"  she  answered  quietly. 

"There  can  be  but  one  explanation  of  this,"  he 
said,  coming  nearer.  He  was  reckless  with  pain  and 
anger  now.  "You  love  another!" 

"If  so  you  think,  so  may  you  speedily  release  me!" 

"So  will  I  not;  you  have  given  your  word!" 

"Fear  you  not  to  wed  me,  thinking  that  I  love 
another?" 

"Marry  you  I  will,  stand  heaven  and  hell  against 
me !  I  love  you,  I  hold  your  promise.  For  the  rest — 
well,  we  will  not  speak  more  of  that,"  he  spoke  bit- 
terly. 

"I  have  never  promised  to  love  you !" 

"No!" 

"Do  you  think  me  nearer  loving  you  to-day  than 
that  other  day?" 

"No!" 

"There  are  women  more  beautiful  than  I,  women 
who  might  easily  love  you — why  do  you  not  throw 
my  cold  promise  back  to  me  as  a  hateful  thing  ?"  she 
pleaded. 

"Why  do  I  not  release  you  of  mine  own  free 
will  ?"  he  asked  wrathfully.  "So  will  I  show  you, 
so  will  I  tell  you,  since  you  ask  me!"  Taking  her 
arm  he  drew  her  across  the  room  in  front  of  a  tall 
pier-glass.  Trembling  she  stood  there,  overcome  and 
subdued  by  his  passion.  "Look  you,"  he  said ;  "look 
at  the  woman  who  confronts  you  there !" 


326  The  Carolinians 

Mutely  she  obeyed,  compelled  thereto  by  some- 
thing stronger  than  herself;  but  her  eyes  rested  not 
on  her  own  reflection  but  upon  that  of  the  man  alive 
with  purpose,  splendid  in  courage,  dauntless  in  love, 
whom  she  saw  in  a  new  and  terrible  light. 

"Look  you  well,"  he  said  earnestly,  "then  ask 
me  why  I  do  not  offer  to  release  you.  There  may 
be  women  more  beautiful  than  you,  that  I  know  not. 
Some  women  there  may  be  who  might  easily  love 
me.  Some  women  have  loved  me,  mayhap.  Cause 
I  have  given  them  to  rue  their  love,  mayhap.  Truly. 
I  have  never  left  them  thirsty.  That  which  I  have 
willed,  I  have  most  often  accomplished !"  His  eyes 
flashed,  his  voice  rang  with  a  reckless  note  of 
triumph  that  made  the  girl  tremble  in  his  strong 
grasp.  Then  Francis  Yonge  drew  a  deep  breath. 

"Look  at  yourself,"  he  continued,  with  mingled 
fervency  and  bitterness.  "Look  at  that  little  head 
crowned  with  its  shining  gold;  day  and  night  have 
I  longed  to  draw  it  upon  my  bosom  and  hold  it  there 
till  time  and  eternity  shall  have  passed  away.  Look 
at  that  white  brow,  those  flushed  cheeks,  those 
sweet  red  lips.  Day  upon  day  have  I  hungered  to 
touch  them,  night  following  night  have  I  covered 
them  with  kisses  in  dreams,  nor  sinned  I  in  the 
dreaming,  nor  broke  I  law  of  God  or  man,  seeing 
that  you  are  my  promised  wife,  seeing  that  some  day 
we  twain  would  be  pronounced  one  flesh  in  the  sight 
of  God  and  man.  Is  there  no  warm  blood  in  your 
veins  to  thrill  to  my  love,  no  woman's  nature  in 
your  lovely  frame  that  it  grows  cold  to  my  touch 
when  it  should  yearn  toward  me  ?  Your  flesh  is  ice, 


Disappointments  327 

your  arm  lies  as  a  snowflake  in  my  hand,  your  eyes 
avoid  mine ;  for  love  you  give  me  fear,  and  yet  come 
heaven  or  come  hell  I  will  hold  you  to  your  word 
because  I  love  you.  And  now — "  he  said,  pausing 
for  breath  and  moistening  his  parched  lips,  while 
he  drew  her  around  and  holding  her  at  arm's  length 
looked  full  into  her  face — "sweet,  white  little  flower 
that  fears  me  and  trembles  under  the  fervor  of  my 
love,  you  have  drunk  up  my  reason,  tortured,  dared 
and  denied  me,  yet  by  all  your  bloodless  saints  I 
swear  that  this  once  will  I  kiss  you  once  upon  those 
same  sweet  red  lips,  then  will  I  leave  you  before 
love  of  you  drive  me  to  some  new  madness !" 

Mute,  despairing,  terrified  stood  the  girl,  her  eyes 
suddenly  opened  to  that  which  love  means  to  a  man. 
Unresisting,  awed  she  stood,  the  room  circling  in 
waves  of  yellow  blossoms  about  her,  the  heavy  fra- 
grance of  the  flowers  overwhelming  her  senses. 

Closer  and  closer  Francis  Yonge  drew  her  to  him, 
while  she  seemed  as  turned  to  stone  on  the  rack  of 
his  love.  The  golden  head  lay  on  his  bosom,  he 
lifted  the  pale  face  to  his  own;  the  long  lashes  lay 
motionless  above  the  violet  shadows,  not  a  heart- 
beat ruffled  the  lace  against  her  bosom;  she  lay  in 
his  arms  as  though  asleep. 

"Sweetheart,  sweetheart,  forgive  me;  so  must  I 
once,  else  will  I  lose  reason!  You  little  white 
flower,  how  can  you  know  how  I  have  yearned  for 
you,  how  longed  to  hpld  you  thus — prayed  for  your 
lips  even  thus.  Dream  of  my  dream,  life  of  my 
life,"  he  murmured  tenderly,  then  broke  off  with  a 
cry  of  agony.  "Great  God,  she  has  fainted !" 


328  The  Carolinians 

He  gathered  her  into  his  arms  and  carried  her 
to  a  couch  by  the  open  window,  tears  of  shame  fall- 
ing upon  her  white  unconscious  face. 

"Would  God  I  had  died  ere  I  had  hurt  thee !" 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

PATIENCE 

"Love  alters  not  with  his  brief  hours  and  weeks, 
But  bears  it  out  e'en  to  the  edge  of  doom." 

— Shakespeare — Sonnet. 

Early  in  May  Francis  Yonge  landed  in  London, 
the  scene  of  his  youthful  triumphs  and  follies. 

There  he  found  the  affairs  of  the  Colony  vastly 
involved,  somewhat  in  disfavor,  and  by  no  means 
promising  of  a  happy  solution. 

From  the  King,  to  whom  they  had  made  direct 
appeal,  no  satisfaction  could  be  obtained,  seeing  that 
that  careful  monarch  awaited  such  favorable  time  as 
the  Proprietors  might  resign  their  rights  so  might 
he  assume  them  to  his  own  profit.  The  Proprietors 
themselves  were  neither  diligent  nor  courteous,  let- 
ting it  rather  be  seen  that  they  regarded  the  whole 
matter  as  an  annoyance.  The  Palatine  Lord  Car- 
teret,  whose  deputy  Mr.  Yonge  was,  busied  himself 
in  preparations  for  an  important  embassy  to  Sweden, 
the  others  being  also  equally  engaged  or  disinclined. 

It  was  weeks  before  a  quorum  could  be  procured, 
and  when  accomplished  consisted  for  the  greater  part 
of  proxies.  To  Mr.  Yonge,  who  had  come  to  Lon- 
don in  all  good  faith  to  save  the  Proprietors  from 
the  consequences  of  their  folly,  if  possible,  such  con- 


330  The  Carolinians 

duct  was  particularly  irritating  and  ungracious. 
Nevertheless,  he  exercised  himself  diligently  to 
obtain  their  good-will  on  behalf  of  the  Colony,  and 
give  them  a  proper  understanding  of  its  circum- 
stances, also  of  the  critical  condition  of  their 
authority. 

After  great  perseverance  and  the  patient  submis- 
sion to  manifold  slights  he  was  finally  permitted  to 
lay  the  memorial  of  the  Colony  before  them,  together 
with  the  complaints  against  Justice  Trott. 

Pending  their  decision  and  during  three  months 
Mr.  Yonge  had  ample  leisure  in  London  Town  for 
all  of  its  sights  and  its  pleasures.  He  amused  him- 
self as  best  he  might  in  the  extravagant,  picturesque 
beau  monde,  where  fashion  did  not  set  a  very  high 
standard  for  its  devotees,  for,  and  did  he  do  it  in 
good  form,  a  man  could  break  most  of  the  laws  of 
the  Decalogue  in  a  day  without  shocking  his  asso- 
ciates or  injuring  his  own  reputation. 

The  great  play  actors  whom  he  had  applauded  in 
his  youth  had  forever  passed  behind  the  pasteboard 
scenes.  The  Brace  girdle  no  longer  played  Angelica 
in  "Love  for  Love,"  that  lewd  and  witty  comedy 
written  for  her  by  her  lover,  the  brilliant  and  un- 
scrupulous Congreve.  My  Lords  Lovelace  and  Bur- 
leigh  no  longer  ogled  and  languished  in  the  audience, 
for  with  love  and  youth  she  had  long  since  done. 

The  old  kings  and  queens  had  laid  aside  their 
ermine  and  tinsel,  but  new  stars  had  arisen  above 
the  footlights,  and  about  the  play-house  doors  in 
Drury  Lane  and  Covent  Garden  powdered  beaux 
still  ogled  the  fine  ladies  passing  to  their  chairs,  link 
boys  quarreled,  flambeaux  flared,  the  shrill  cries  of 


Patience  331 

the  orange  girls  rose  above  the  confusion  where  all 
the  world  of  fashion,  painted  and  patched  and  pow- 
dered, took  its  pleasures  and  license. 

Some  hours  he  passed  in  the  Kit-Cat  Club.  Here 
in  the  old  days,  now  seemingly  far-passed,  Steele  and 
Addison  had  argued,  Congreve  conversed  in  his 
brilliant  egotism,  and  Kneller  had  taken  his  leisure, 
besides  the  beaux  and  the  wits  of  the  day. 

He  dropped  in  at  Will's  Coffee  House  and  the 
Bell  and  the  Cock,  disporting-  himself  there  after  the 
manner  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  times.  He  went  to 
the  Exchange  and  to  Spring  Gardens,  but  he  took 
his  pleasures  with  a  moderation  and  a  decency  that 
set  his  comrades  a-titter  over  his  priggishness. 

He  quarreled  with  Lady  Geraldine,  still  unwed,  at 
least  three  times  a  week  over  her  tea  table,  made  it 
up  at  the  play,  and  quarreled  again  at  the  next  rout. 
He  lost  gold  at  cards,  ordered  a  wardrobe,  and  was 
as  particular  therein  in  the  matter  of  tints  and  lacings 
and  spriggings  as  the  veriest  fine  lady  herself.  He 
refrained  from  going  to  Bath  Town,  out  of  deference 
for  a  certain  white  rose  in  the  Province,  as  he  did 
also  from  other  fashionable  pleasures  for  the  same 
cause.  And  all  the  while,  though  courted  and  in- 
vited and  feted  in  the  great  town,  though  he  would 
not  own  it  even  to  himself,  he  was  writing  letters  to 
Mistress  Damaris  Johnson  and  wishing  'twere  him- 
self in  place  of  the  letter  that  sailed  on  the  next 
packet. 

Meanwhile,  the  mission  that  lay  so  near  to  his 
heart  prospered  but  ill.  The  Proprietors  persisted 
in  regarding  the  whole  matter  as  an  unwarrantable 
annoyance.  Mr.  Yonge  would  himself  have  been 


332  The  Carolinians 

removed  from  office  were  it  not  in  deference  to  Lord 
Carteret,  whose  deputy  he  was.  They  disapproved 
of  the  complaints  made  against  Trott,  disregarded 
the  petitions,  and  instituted  various  measures  highly 
injurious  to  the  Governor  and  his  authority,  casting 
at  the  same  time  certain  ungrateful  reflections  upon 
his  Excellency's  conduct. 

Hot  in  heart,  vexed  in  spirit,  and  entrusted  with 
certain  sealed  packets,  Mr.  Yonge  was  despatched 
back  to  the  Colony.  In  the  packet,  duly  delivered 
to  Governor  Johnson,  he  found  an  order  command- 
ing the  breaking  up  of  the  present  Council,  forming 
in  its  stead  a  new  one  consisting  of  twelve  men 
instead  of  seven,  from  the  said  Council,  there  being 
excluded  Mr.  Thomas  Broughton,  Mr.  Alexander 
Skene  and  Mr.  James  Kinloch,  the  same  having 
joined  in  complaints  against  Justice  Trott.  The 
packet  contained  also  letters  to  his  Excellency  from 
their  Lordships,  written  in  terms  of  grave  courtesy, 
but  implying  irritating  reflections  upon  himself  and 
his  conduct  in  the  Assembly. 

The  position  of  the  Governor  had  now  become 
difficult  in  the  extreme.  He  must  needs  stem  the 
tide  of  indignation  against  the  Board,  suffering  in 
himself  a  measure  of  the  odium  aroused  by  them, 
experiencing  the  responsibilities  of  an  aggravated 
authority  while  the  real  control  was  in  the  hands  of 
Trott.  However,  he  set  himself  to  obey  their 
instructions,  though  the  Province  regarded  his 
course  as  madness,  some  of  the  members  refusing  to 
qualify. 


Patience  333 

The  most  grievous  among  the  new  acts  was  that 
which  forbade  the  giving  of  lands  to  emigrants,  their 
Lordships  retaining  for  themselves  this  privilege. 

Now  colonization  was  the  hope  and  safeguard  of 
the  Colony.  Only  by  an  increase  of  such  a  popula- 
tion could  their  borders  be  enlarged  and  strengthened 
and  maintained  against  the  Indians. 

Never  was  colony  more  righteously  indignant 
against  its  rulers.  An  ominous  disaffection  spread 
through  the  land.  Matters  could  not  so  continue, 
and  the  wisest  shook  their  heads  in  grave  apprehen- 
sion of  what  might  be. 

Unsuccessful  in  his  political  embassy,  disappointed 
and  sore,  but  looking  forward  eagerly  to  a  certain 
compensation  after  long  absence,  Francis  Yonge,  in 
all  the  bravery  of  London  fashion,  hastened  upon  the 
first  day  of  arrival  to  seek  Mistress  Damaris,  though 
a  certain  recollection  of  the  last  scene  between  them 
made  him  somewhat  anxious  and  ill  at  ease. 

In  the  garden  he  found  her.  There  he  found  also 
Captain  Maynard,  whom  he  straightway  fell  to 
regarding  with  some  of  his  ancient  rancor. 

Not  an  exclamation  of  surprise,  not  a  blush 
warmed  her  cheek  as  she  rose  to  greet  him.  If  she 
remembered,  she  chose  to  forget.  Into  his  eager, 
ardent  eyes  she  looked  with  gracious  calm,  laid  a 
cool  little  hand  into  his  for  a  moment,  rallied  him 
gaily  upon  the  splendor  of  his  garments  and  ques- 
tioned him  laughingly  as  to  the  broken  hearts  he  had 
left  behind  him  in  London  Town. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

A    QUESTION    OF    HONOR 

"Life  is  but  to  live  with  honor." 

— Calderon. 

"It  was  our  honours  drew  us  to  this  act, 
Not  gain,  and  we  will  only  work  our  pardons." 

— Beaumont  and  Fletcher. 

In  further  pursuance  of  proprietary  instructions 
the  new  Assembly  had  been  called  in  Charles  Town, 
and  here  began  the  first  organized  opposition  to  the 
Proprietors.  Trott  and  Rhett,  once  so  influential 
in  matter  of  elections,  gnashed  their  teeth  when  they 
failed  to  incline  one  member  to  themselves,  finding 
furthermore  that  in  the  present  inflamed  condition 
of  the  Province  'twas  unsafe  so  much  as  to  speak  in 
the  Proprietors'  favor. 

The  Governor  held  his  hand.  For  the  present  he 
found  himself  unable  to  move,  since  loyalty  to  the 
Board  had  brought  into  disfavor  all  that  he  might 
suggest.  It  was  the  course  of  wisdom,  he  deemed, 
not  further  to  inflame  the  people  by  any  unneces- 
sary interference. 

However,  certain  tidings  reached  him  which 
forced  him  to  call  his  Council  together.  War  had 
broken  out  anew  between  England  and  Spain,  and  in 
furtherance  thereof  it  was  projected  at  Havana  to 


A  Question  of  Honor  335 

send  out  an  attacking  force  against  South  Carolina 
and  the  Island  of  Providence. 

When  this  information  reached  the  Governor 
through  authentic  sources  the  Assembly  had  not 
yet  convened.  He  called  his  Council  and  as  many 
members  possible  of  the  newly-elected  Assembly  to- 
gether in  great  haste  that  they  might  with  him  de- 
vise some  means  of  defense,  and  since  the  treasury 
was  empty  the  Governor  proposed  that  the  money 
should  be  raised  by  public  subscription,  making  a 
gift  of  £500  himself. 

Upon  this  the  new  members  announced  that  such 
subscription  was  unnecessary,  seeing  the  Duty  Act 
would  supply  them.  The  Governor  announced  the 
repeal  of  that  law.  He  received  reply  that  orders 
were  given  to  the  Public  Receiver  to  sue  all  who  re- 
fused compliance.  Justice  Trott  announced  that 
should  such  cases  come  to  his  courts  he  would  give 
verdict  in  favor  of  the  defendant.  Nothing  was 
done  at  the  meeting,  the  members  preferring  Span- 
ish invasion  to  Proprietary  legislation. 

The  Governor  applied  now  to  his  military  forces, 
determined  that  they  should  hold  themselves  in  read- 
iness. He  summoned  the  field  officers  and  delivered 
orders  for  a  review,  with  arrangements  for  a  rendez- 
vous in  case  of  invasion. 

Governor  Johnson  put  thus  into  the  hands  of  the 
people  the  very  opportunity  that  they  wished  for 
organization,  and  while  the  Governor  was  kept  in 
strict  ignorance  thereof,  with  greatest  zeal  of  activity 
the  party  was  strengthened  against  the  Proprietors, 
and  at  the  meetings  of  the  militia  the  prepared  arti- 
cles were  signed.  One  Mr.  Alexander  Skene,  a  man 


336  The  Carolinians 

of  ability,  one  who  had  held  offices  in  Barbadoes,  and 
one  of  the  members  dropped  by  the  Board  from  the 
new  Council,  was  zealous  in  the  present  undertaking. 

The  Governor  had  ridden  out  to  his  plantation, 
some  five  miles  from  the  town,  on  the  evening  of 
November  27th,  1719.  Upon  the  day  following  he 
received  a  letter  signed  by  Mr.  Skene,  Colonel  Logan 
and  Major  Blakeway,  stating  that  the  whole  Prov- 
ince had  signed  an  agreement  to  maintain  their 
rights  and  throw  off  the  tyrannical  oppressions  of 
the  Proprietors.  They  also  informed  him  therein 
of  the  great  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  peo- 
ple; that  a  committee  had  been  appointed  to  wait 
upon  him,  to  acquaint  his  Honor  with  their  resolu- 
tions, and  to  beg  his  Honor  that  he  would  hold  the 
Government  for  the  King  until  His  Majesty's  pleas- 
ure be  known  in  the  matter,  seeing  that  there  was  no 
other  man  in  the  Province  held  in  such  general  ad- 
miration and  affection. 

For  themselves  they  added,  "That  we  are  of  the 
opinion  that  your  Honor  may  take  the  Government 
upon  you,  upon  the  offer  of  the  people  for  the  King, 
and  represent  the  Proprietors ;  that  rather  than  the 
whole  country  should  be  in  confusion  and  want  a 
Governing  Power  you  held  it  for  their  Lordships, 
tho'  you  are  obliged  to  comply  with  the  people  of 
the  Province,  who  are  unanimously  of  the  opinion 
they  will  have  no  Proprietors'  government." 

The  Governor  flung  the  letter  from  him  as  though 
it  were  a  viper. 

"May  the  Lord  forgive  them !"  he  groaned.  "And 
I  have  tried  to  live  clean  in  the  sight  of  all  men!" 
He  crossed  to  the  window  with  a  face  set  and  white. 


A  Question  of  Honor  337 

"Have  my  horse  saddled,  Pompey,  and  that  within 
the  minute !"  he  cried  peremptorily. 

In  a  time  incredibly  short  he  was  covering  the 
miles  that  lay  between  him  and  the  Town  as  fast 
as  his  English-bred  hunter  could  carry  him.  Reach- 
ing home  he  flung  the  bridle  of  his  steaming  animal 
to  a  groom  and  strode  up  the  steps;  there  Damaris 
met  him.  She  had  heard  the  flying  hoof-beats  of 
the  horse  and  rushed  forth  to  greet  him. 

"Back  so  soon  again,  father?  I  had  purposed  to 
join  you  this  morning." 

"Something  of  grave  import  has  recalled  me." 

"Is  it  pirates,  or  Indians,  or  a  rising  of  the 
blacks  ?"  she  questioned  breathlessly. 

"Worse,  a  thousand  times  worse !" 

"Tell  me,  father,"  she  pleaded,  hanging  on  to  his 
arm. 

"The  people  have  risen  and  banded  together 
against  their  rightful  rulers.  They  purpose  throw- 
ing off  their  lawful  authority." 

"Good !"  cried  the  girl,  with  arms  uplifted  and 
eyes  flashing. 

"Merciful  heaven,  is  mine  own  child  attainted 
with  this  cursed  treason!"  groaned  the  Governor, 
turning  away  his  face.  "Then  indeed  it  is  not  strange 
that  this  insult  should  be  put  upon  me !" 

"They  dared  not  insult  you,  father!"  flashed  the 
girl  indignantly. 

"Even  so;  had  the  damnable  impertinence  to  of- 
fer me  a  bribe." 

"The  cowards!"  cried  Damaris  with  passion. 
"Dared  offer  a  bribe  to  a  Johnson ;  to  you,  my  father, 
who  are  the  soul  of  honor!  'Tis  unbelievable." 


338  The  Carolinians 

"They  dared  offer  me  the  governorship,  insolent 
rebels  that  they  are,  and  I  held  it  for  them  in  the 
King's  name.  By  the  heavenly  powers  I  will  hold 
out  against  them;  while  I  live,  so  help  me  heaven, 
I  will  have  the  courage  to  be  a  man !"  The  Gov- 
ernor lifted  his  troubled  face  and  his  hand  to  the  sky. 

"Father,"  said  Damaris  softly,  the  while  she  lifted 
his  hand  to  her  lips  and  kissed  it ;  "father,  my  heart 
is  not  in  the  cause  as  you  do  know,  but  it  is  all  with 
you,  and  by  you  will  I  stand  with  my  last  breath. 
Father,  we  will  hold  our  honor  against  them,  come 
what  may!" 

"Nay,  thou  art  a  loyal  lass  after  all.  Now  must 
I  be  off  to  stem  this  insufferable  treason,  and  I  may." 

He  kissed  her,  passed  gravely  down  the  steps, 
mounted  his  fresh  horse  held  by  Sergeant  McLeod, 
and  with  two  grooms  following  rode  quickly  away. 

One  by  one  they  gathered,  breathless  and  grave, 
that  new  Council  of  twelve,  and  no  word  there  was, 
save  the  passing  of  greetings  among  them.  When 
they  were  all  in  their  seats  the  Governor  took  his 
place  upon  the  dais. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  speaking  in  troubled  tones, 
"a  great  misfortune  has  come  upon  us,  rebellion 
breeds  in  the  land.  To  my  ears  the  certain  informa- 
tion thereof  has  but  come  within  the  two  hours. 
Many  of  you  here  present  are  like  to  have  known 
of  it  for  some  time.  This  is  no  sudden  movement, 
no  impetuous  uprising — it  is  premeditated  sedition 
and  organized  rebellion.  There  is  black  treachery  in 
the  land  and  I  who  hold  their  Lordships'  authority 
am  the  last  to  know  of  the  plot  against  them !" 


A  Question  of  Honor  339 

"We  do  but  maintain  our  rights  against  their 
tyranny !"  spoke  one. 

"The  King  has  long  since  signified  by  pertinent 
acts  that  he  is  not  loth  to  reverse  the  charter !"  spoke 
another. 

"The  people  have  been  tried  beyond  their 
strength!"  called  a  third. 

"Tyranny  brings  its  own  punishment !"  a  fourth 
affirmed. 

"So  it  would  seem,  gentlemen,  that  treason  is  be- 
come a  virtue !"  thundered  the  Governor. 

"We  do  not  hold  it  to  be  treason!"  spoke  one 
hotly.  "There  is  not  a  man  in  the  Province  whose 
loyalty  could  be  questioned.  To  the  King  we  are 
true  to  a  man,  but  we  choose  not  longer  to  be  gov- 
erned by  those  to  whom  the  government  was  given 
under  certain  conditions  which  they  have  not  ful- 
filled, therein  forfeiting  their  claims  to  our  fealty !" 

"As  long  as  the  charter  so  stands,  every  man  of 
honor  is  bound !"  replied  the  Governor  warmly. 

"Nay,  your  Excellency,  not  so ;  we  were  bound 
together  by  mutual  obligation  and  interest.  They 
have  foresworn  their  obligations,  heaped  oppression 
upon  us,  and  we  owe  them  nothing,  never  having 
borne  them  love!" 

"This  is  seditious  language,  gentlemen !"  replied 
the  Governor  sternly. 

"Nay,  your  Excellency,  'tis  truth;  but  truth  we 
dare  not  speak  in  public,  seeing  we  hold  office  under 
their  Lordships,  and  as  long  as  such  is  the  case  we 
are  bound  in  honor  to  uphold  them.  Whatever  your 
Excellency  sees  fit  in  your  wisdom  there  we  will 
uphold  you." 


340  The  Carolinians 

"This  is  a  strange  case,  gentlemen,  and  scarcely 
consistent  with  the  tenor  of  a  letter  I  have  received. 
In  that  letter  I  have  received  unwarranted -insult." 

"That  passes  belief,  your  Excellency!" 

"None  would  dare  insult  your  Excellency  with 
impunity !" 

'  The  honor  of  our  Governor  is  beyond  question !" 

"Think  you  so,  gentlemen,  how  consorts  your 
good  opinion  with  the  following?"  He  opened  the 
letter  and  read;  when  he  had  finished  there  was 
silence  in  the  room. 

"Becomes  that  your  opinion  of  my  honor,  gen- 
tlemen?" he  asked  gravely. 

'  'Twas  far  from  motive  of  insult,  your  Excel- 
lency. The  committee  but  sought  to  conform  to  au- 
thority as  nearly  as  they  might,  and  regarding  your 
Excellency  as  a  man  of  fine  parts  and  of  integrity 
untainted,  did  desire  to  be  led  by  you." 

"  'Tis  a  dastardly  insult !  Not  all  the  sophistries 
in  the  world  can  wash  it  out  nor  whiten  it  one  tittle  !" 

"  'Tis  an  extreme  view  that  your  Excellency  takes. 
That  they  have  applied  to  you  in  this  manner  shows 
that  they  do  desire  to  be  reasonable  in  their  actions." 

"It  is  monstrous  reasonable  to  offer  a  bribe  to  a 
man  of  honor !" 

"  'Twas  a  service  they  asked  of  you  in  good  cause, 
your  Honor,  seeing  that  you  had  served  so  faith- 
fully in  one  less  righteous!" 

"With  them  and  their  treasonable  practices  I  will 
have  no  commerce.  I  stand  for  our  Lords  the  Pro- 
prietors and  their  rights ;  for  the  rest  I  move  not !" 

'  'Tis  as  well,  your  Honor,  seeing  that  the  com- 
mittee has  failed  to  wait  upon  you." 


A  Question  of  Honor  341 

"Can  nothing  be  done,  gentlemen;  nothing  be 
devised  to  stamp  out  this  rebellion  ?"  asked  the  Gov- 
ernor earnestly. 

"As  to  the  rebellion,  your  Excellency,  that  has 
passed  beyond  our  hands  for  this  present.  We  can 
do  nothing  until  the  Assembly  meets.  Without  its 
concurrence  we  are  powerless." 

"  'Tis  a  corrupt  land  where  treason  walks  un- 
cloaked and  unrebuked!"  answered  the  Governor 
bitterly. 

Then  with  mutual  consent  the  party  broke  up  to 
wait  until  the  times  were  riper  for  action. 

As  the  Governor  walked  forth  to  mount  his  horse 
he  found  Lady  Kildare  in  her  coach  drawn  up  be- 
side the  pavement.  She  was  chuckling  malevolently 
and  stayed  him  with  her  threatening  finger. 

"So,  your  Excellency,  the  eyes  of  the  blind  have 
been  opened  at  last !"  she  spoke  triumphantly. 

"  'Tis  a  questionable  benefit  to  have  one's  eyes 
opened  to  the  iniquities  of  one's  fellow-citizens," 
replied  the  Governor  sadly,  and  would  have  passed 
on  with  a  bow. 

"Nay,  Governor,  not  so  fast  and  not  so  hot- foot 
after  rebellion.  Small  fear  of  its  running  away  from 
you,  'tis  a  pleasant  visitor  that  has  come  to  tarry 
in  the  Province." 

"Your  Ladyship  is  pleased  to  jest,"  replied  the 
Governor  gravely. 

"Gramercy,  it  is  a  right  pretty  jest,"  cackled  her 
Ladyship.  One  is  set  on  a  hill  top  with  his  head  in 
the  clouds  and  suddenly  he  wakes  and  weeps,  find- 
ing dirt  under  his  feet." 


342  The  Carolinians 

"  Tis  a  very  sober  matter,  Madam ;  one  that  calls 
for  grave  efforts." 

"Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  'tis  a  very  joyful  matter ! 
I  have  a  new  cask  of  Madeira,  your  Excellency ;  'tis 
of  the  best.  I  prithee  come  with  me  and  we'll  drink 
the  King's  health." 

"I  will  drink  with  your  Ladyship  to  the  health  of 
our  worshipful  masters  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  the 
Province  of  South  Carolina!"  his  Excellency  made 
answer. 

"Beshrew  me,  you  will  not!"  snapped  her  Lady- 
ship. "Before  I  drink  such  iniquitous  draught  my 
wine  shall  sour  on  its  lees.  The  powers  be  praised 
that  I  have  lived  to  see  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  over- 
throw of  that  arrogant  winebibber  and  libertine, 
George  Carteret!" 

"You  do  speak  most  treasonable  matter,  your 
Ladyship,"  answered  the  Governor,  growing  impa- 
tient. 

"Truth  passes  ever  for  treason  in  a  world  made 
of  lies !"  replied  her  Ladyship. 

"Treason  is  born  of  the  Devil !"  answered  the  Gov- 
ernor hotly. 

"So  are  most  of  the  pleasures  of  life.  Well,  good- 
morning,  your  Excellency,  and  a  fair  good-day  to 
you.  Faith,  I  am  grieved  that  you  will  not  drink 
of  my  wine  in  such  fair  cause.  Fore  the  Lord  Harry, 
'tis  the  good  men  who  have  to  be  made  over  be- 
fore they  are  wise  enough  to  traffic  with  the  chil- 
dren of  men !"  Smiling  wickedly,  plumes  nodding, 
jewels  flashing,  she  rolled  away.  "There  are  many 
who  will  drink  of  my  wine,  your  Excellency!"  she 
called  back. 


A  Question  of  Honor  343 

"  "Pis  a  mad  land !"  exclaimed  the  Governor,  sigh- 
ing deeply.  "  Tis  far  from  good  old  England.  'Tis 
true,  as  my  daughter  says,  that  a  new  race  is  breed- 
ing here."  He  mounted  his  horse  with  another  sigh 
and  rode  slowly  homeward,  and  none  who  saw  their 
Governor  pass  with  head  erect  recked  of  the  shame 
that  was  gnawing  at  his  heart. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

STEADFAST   TO    THE   END 

"Earthly  honors  flow  and  waste, 
Time  alone  doth  change  and  last." 

— John  Ford. 

When  the  Assembly  finally  convened  upon  Decem- 
ber 10,  1719,  there  was  general  disaffection  and  lack 
of  harmony. 

The  Governor  sent  his  usual  message  to  the  House 
signifying  his  readiness  to  meet  them,  whereupon 
the  House  refused  to  meet  the  Council,  the  Speaker, 
Mr.  Middleton,  delivering  an  address  in  which  he 
stated  that  all  recent  measures  instituted  by  their 
Lordships  were  illegal  and  not  to  be  considered  by 
the  Province.  That  they  held  themselves  no  longer 
to  be  an  Assembly  subject  to  their  Lordships'  unjust 
restrictions,  the  said  Lordships  having  forfeited 
their  rights  upon  them,  but  as  a  convention,  acting 
for  the  people,  and  prayed  that  his  Excellency  Gov- 
ernor Johnson  would  continue  to  hold  the  reins  of 
government  until  such  time  as  His  Majesty  should 
be  heard  from.  This  startling  declaration  caused 
universal  consternation.  The  way  of  wisdom  was 
not  clear.  Some  were  full  of  advices  for  a  stern 
course,  others  equally  decided  for  mild  measures; 
among  the  latter  the  worshipful  Justice  who  had 
contributed  so  greatly  to  this  catastrophe. 


Steadfast  to  the  End  345 

The  Governor  was  greatly  wroth  over  the  pro- 
posal which  the  so-called  convention  had  made  to 
him  in  all  good  faith  and  affection,  though  he  held 
it  as  an  affront  to  his  honor.  When  further  entreated 
he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  cried  vehemently : 

"Nay,  gentlemen,  by  my  oath,  I  will  shake  off  this 
generation  of  traitors  as  a  grape  its  unripe  fruit !" 

"We  are  not  traitors,  your  Excellency!  Should 
the  people  ever  endure  the  tyranny  of  the  oppres- 
sors ?"  asked  one. 

"When  a  man  comes  to  the  point  of  reviling  his 
benefactors  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight !" 
maintained  the  Governor. 

"They  have  given  us  neither  protection  nor  assist- 
ance," said  one.  "They  have  ground  us  beneath 
oppression's  heel." 

"Should  an  honorable  man  utter  treachery  and  fill 
his  nostrils  with  the  breath  of  asses?"  demanded  the 
Governor. 

"All  being  said,  your  Excellency,  that  savors  of 
wisdom,  it  comes  to  this,  that  considering  the  straits 
in  which  we  are  placed,  the  Spaniards  being  upon  us 
furthermore,  it  were  expedient  to  comply  with  the 
demands  of  the  people,"  urged  another. 

"Will  your  Excellency  hold  his  hands  and  look  on 
while  the  Dons  ravage  our  land?"  pleaded  still 
another. 

"We  do  beseech  your  Honor  to  be  favorable  in 
this  matter,  seeing  that  you  have  great  hold  upon 
the  confidence  and  affection  of  the  people." 

"Out  of  an  unclean  thing  can  you  bring  forth  a 
clean  one?  No,  gentlemen,  a  thousand  times  no,  I 
say  unto  you !  The  swine  will  smell  of  its  wallow, 


346  The  Carolinians 

call  we  it  a  horse  never  so  bravely.  If  we  band  our- 
selves together  disloyally,  be  the  cause  never  so 
righteous,  so  will  evil  follow  as  surely  as  stubble  is 
consumed  in  fire !" 

And  so  maintained  the  Governor  right  nobly  his 
cause  against  those  who  would  have  persuaded  him 
to  their  will,  and  in  the  end  rose  he  and  gave  answer 
to  the  committee  finally  and  in  full. 

There  was  silence  in  the  crowded  hall,  silence  and 
tense  suspense  when  he  arose.  All  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  his  commanding  figure,  and  upon  his  white  face 
pain-worn,  but  the  dauntless  eyes  quailed  not  as  he 
met  their  look,  the  while  in  a  proud,  resolute  voice, 
that  rang  through  the  hall,  he  refused  and  defied 
them,  yet  withal  there  was  perfect  courtesy  and 
exceeding  dignity.  When  he  had  finished  there  was 
silence,  bowed  heads  and  sorrowful  countenances. 

"Gentlemen,"  the  Assembly  is  adjourned,"  spoke 
the  Governor  gravely.  Then  they  went  out  silently 
one  by  one,  by  twos  and  threes,  their  hearts  big  with 
sorrow  because  they  had  lost  the  countenance  and 
leadership  of  an  honorable  man,  than  whom  was 
none  in  the  Province  so  greatly  esteemed.  In  the 
afternoon  the  determined  Governor  sent  forth  his 
proclamation  declaring  the  Assembly  dissolved;  but 
the  convention,  equally  determined,  and  in  all  reck- 
lessness, overcame  the  marshal,  tearing  the  docu- 
ment from  his  hand  and  destroying  it  in  the  presence 
of  the  people,  and  issuing  upon  the  same  afternoon 
a  proclamation  of  their  own  framing  confirming  all 
civil  and  military  officers  in  their  positions  until 
further  hearing. 


Steadfast  to  the  End  347 

And  now,  being  satisfied  that  Governor  Johnson 
would  withstand  them,  they  chose  for  their  Governor 
Colonel  James  Moore,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
late  Indian  wars.  Upon  Monday,  December  21,  it 
was  noised  abroad  that  the  convention  would  pro- 
claim its  Governor  in  the  King's  name,  whereupon 
Governor  Johnson  summoned  his  Council  to  meet 
him,  which  they  declined  to  do,  holding  it  the  part 
of  wisdom  to  resist  no  further  what  was  indeed  too 
strong  for  them. 

Previously  the  Governor  had  .ordered  Colonel 
Parris  to  hold  a  review  of  the  town  companies  upon 
the  same  day,  feeling  that  he  could  rely  upon  this 
officer  to  assist  him  in  operations  against  the  Span- 
iards if  need  be.  However,  when  he  learned  that  the 
convention  was  eager  for  opportunities  to  meet  the 
body  of  the  people,  he  countermanded  the  order. 

Now  indeed  was  his  Honor  greatly  wroth  upon 
the  2 ist  day  of  December.  His  Council  had  refused 
to  meet,  besides  which,  despite  his  peremptory  orders, 
everywhere  about  the  town  drums  beat,  flags  flew, 
uniforms  shone,  giving  to  the  place  an  air  of  military 
parade  and  festivity.  Upon  the  forts  and  upon  the 
ships  in  the  harbor  the  King's  colors  were  raised,  and 
this  display  he  learned,  to  his  indignation,  was  in 
honor  of  the  new  Governor  now  straightway  to  be 
proclaimed  with  rejoicings  and  acclamations  of  the 
people. 

"Damme,  upon  the  oath  of  a  gentleman  this  is  the 
most  treasonable  madness !"  cried  the  Governor, 
riding  hard  to  the  square,  where  Colonel  Parris  had 
drawn  up  his  troops,  brave  in  the  King's  scarlet. 
"Damn  the  turbulent  knaves !" 


348  The  Carolinians 

"Ho,  sirrah,"  he  called  to  Colonel  Parris,  "how 
dare  you  disobey  my  orders,  expressly  given  ?" 

"I  take  my  orders  from  the  convention,"  answered 
Colonel  Parris  insolently. 

The  Governor,  white  with  anger,  struck  spurs  to 
his  horse  and  dashed  forward. 

"Present  arms !"  called  Colonel  Parris.  "I  warn 
you  to  advance  at  your  peril !" 

Intrepidly  the  Governor  rode  up,  sword  drawn, 
eyes  flashing,  close  to  the  bristling  weapons.  As  he 
rode  he  looked  around,  thinking  that  some  would 
make  haste  to  join  him,  but  in  vain ;  the  angry,  reso- 
lute mob,  that  was  armed  almost  to  a  man,  stirred 
not.  Trott  and  Rhett  moved  back  through  the 
crowd.  Mr.  Lloyd,  the  only  member  of  the  Council 
not  armed,  drew  up  beside  him,  and  he  was  but  an 
envoy  of  the  convention  to  hold  a  check  upon  the 
Governor. 

There  was  a  breathless  pause.  Over  the  little 
town,  with  its  clustered  roofs  and  goodly  gardens, 
the  mild  December  sun  was  shining  with  the  warmth 
of  springtime;  from  fort  and  wall  flaunted  the 
King's  colors;  somewhere  in  the  distance  a  cornet 
was  playing  a  march  of  triumph ;  from  balcony  and 
window  leaned  women  in  festal  robes ;  in  the  square, 
close-packed,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  crowded  resolute 
men ;  horses  neighed,  swords  clanked,  men  breathed 
hard. 

The  members  of  the  convention  now  appeared. 
They  saluted  the  Governor  respectfully  as  they 
passed,  then,  falling  in  ahead  of  the  militia,  they  took 
their  places.  A  bugle-call  gave  the  signal,  the  troops 
moved.  Reviewing  his  lost  cause  the  Governor  sat 


Steadfast  to  the  End  349 

in  dignified  silence.  Company  by  company  they 
passed,  saluting  him,  then  moving  on  at  their  officers' 
commands  to  the  fort,  where  James  Moore  was 
straightway  to  be  proclaimed  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  South  Carolina  with  due  formality. 

The  last  man  had  passed  from  the  square,  the  last 
drum  beat  had  deadened  into  the  distance,  still  sat 
the  Governor  there  motionless  upon  his  coal-black 
horse.  At  last,  like  a  man  in  a  dream,  his  proud 
head  uplifted,  his  grave  eyes  unseeing,  he  rode 
through  the  deserted  streets  to  his  home,  to  all 
appearance  the  only  man  in  the  Province  loyal  to 
their  Lordships. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE    METTLE    OF    STEEL 

"I  must  be  cruel  only  to  be  kind." 

—Hamlet. 

A  ship  bound  from  London  to  New  Providence 
called  at  Charles  Town  in  passing.  Among  her 
passengers  was  an  English  gentleman,  a  friend  of 
Mr.  Yonge,  who  would  try  his  fortunes  among  the 
island  plantations. 

Mr.  Yonge  had  supped  on  board  with  his  friend, 
and  the  two,  recalling  old  pleasures  and  reviewing 
past  adventures  over  mellow  Burgundy,  had  sat  until 
past  the  midnight  hour,  when  Francis  Yonge  was 
rowed  ashore,  the  ship  setting  sail  with  the  tide  that 
flooded  shortly  after. 

The  streets  were  narrow  and  dark  and  ill-lighted, 
but  Francis  Yonge  stepped  jauntily  along  humming 
softly  the  air  of  a  little  French  chanson.  After  a 
little  he  noticed  a  figure  that  slipped  out  of  a  by-way 
and  moved  haltingly  ahead  of  him.  In  the  darkness 
he  could  not  judge  of  the  character  of  the  night- 
stroller,  but  instinctively  his  hand  sought  his  sword 
side. 

Directly  the  walker  paused  and  slipped  into  the 
shadow  of  an  arched  way.  Francis  Yonge  slack- 


The  Mettle  of  Steel  351 

ened  not  in  his  gait  nor  ceased  his  singing,  but  his 
right  hand  clenched  firmly  over  his  sword  hilt. 

Out  of  the  gloom  there  suddenly  sprang  and  con- 
fronted him  a  slender  figure. 

''Nelly !"  he  cried  out  in  amazement. 

"And  why  not  ?"  asked  the  girl,  laughing  lightly. 

"Nelly,  Nelly,  this  is  no  place  for  you !" 

"And  why  not?"  asked  the  girl  again,  this  time 
with  defiance. 

"You  are  too  young  and  too  beautiful  to  wander 
alone  in  the  night;  harm  might  befall  you,"  he 
answered  gravely. 

"What  harm  ?"  she  asked  recklessly. 

"Harm  that  I  care  not  to  think  of,"  he  replied 
sternly. 

"What  does  it  matter  what  comes  to  me?"  she 
returned  bitterly. 

"It  matters  greatly." 

"Nobody  cares." 

"I  care." 

"As  much  as  that,"  she  cried,  snapping  her  fingers 
in  his  face. 

"You  are  jesting.  Promise  me  not  to  do  this 
again." 

"Why  should  I  promise?"  she  asked,  suddenly 
melting  and  pressing  her  light  weight  against  his 
shoulder  as  she  moved  slowly  beside  him,  her  glow- 
ing face  lifted  to  him. 

"Because  you  are  a  woman,  and  because  you 
should  not  lightly  risk  that  which  is  a  woman's 
wealth,"  he  answered  as  soberly  as  he  could,  while 
the  girl's  passionate  eyes  sought  his. 


352  The  Carolinians 

"If  it  is  wealth,"  she  spoke  in  a  passionate  whisper, 
"why  do  you  not  take  it  ?" 

"Because  I  have  no  right  to  it,  my  child,  though 
there  are  others  who  have  and  want  it."  Yonge 
spoke  soberly  enough,  but  it  was  night  and  starlight 
and  the  girl's  warm  fingers  clasping  his  arm  thrilled 
him  in  spite  of  himself,  and  a  devil  within  mocked 
his  coldness. 

"Men  call  me  beautiful,"  pleaded  the  girl. 

"So  therefore  you  should  not  wander  like  this." 

"And  I  could  love,  oh !  I  could  love  as  men  never 
dream!"  She  flung  out  her  arms  with  a  gesture 
half  fierce,  half  child-like. 

"So  you  could,  Nelly,  and  so  you  should  give  up 
this  careless  life  and  marry  Ned  Raff,"  he  urged, 
alluding  to  the  young  sailor  who  had  regarded  him 
so  malevolently  upon  the  night  when  Nelly  had 
danced  the  "Lillies  of  Castile"  in  the  tavern. 

"Ned  Raff !"  she  'cried  scornfully.  "Dirt  of  the 
earth  and  brine  of  the  deep ;  sooner  would  I  run  my 
dagger  through  his  heart." 

"Nay,  Nelly,  be  reasonable.  Raff  loves  you  and 
would  do  anything  in  the  world  for  your  sake." 

"And  so  would  I  do  anything  in  the  world  to  put 
him  out  of  this  world!"  she  cried,  clenching  her 
small  hands  and  stamping  angrily. 

"Then  choose  another,  Nelly ;  there  are  more  than 
one." 

"And  suppose  that  I  did — you — you — what  would 
you  do?"  She  spoke  hesitatingly  and  let  her  hot 
face  droop  against  his  shoulder. 


The  Mettle  of  Steel  353 

"I  would  wish  you  happiness  and  give  you  a  purse 
of  gold  for  your  wedding  portion,"  he  answered 
steadily. 

"A  curse  upon  your  gold !"  she  cried  angrily,  start- 
ing from  him. 

"Then  what  do  you  want?"  he  asked  soothingly. 

She  had  stopped  where  a  creaking  lantern  swung 
above  a  closed  tavern  door.  Its  yellow  light  was 
flung  full  upon  her  face  as  she  leaned  against  the 
wall,  eyes  shining,  lips  trembling,  her  lithe  young 
body  quivering  even  as  that  of  a  mating  doe. 

"Then  what  would  you  have,  Nelly — shall  it  be  a 
necklace,  or  earrings  with  jewels  in  them  as  bright 
as  your  own  bonny  eyes?"  asked  Yonge  lightly,  all 
the  man  in  his  soul  rising  up  to  shield  this  child  of 
chance  from  her  passion. 

"I  would  have  not  your  gold  nor  your  jewels.  I 
would  have  what  a  man  gives  to  her — " 

"Nay,  Nelly,  you  do  but  jest  to  try  me.  Know 
you  not  that  I  am  affianced  to  a  lady  of  this  town 
and  so  must  not  play  with  such  things  ?" 

"You  do  not  love  her !"  she  cried  out  fiercely,  and 
her  hand  sought  her  bosom.  "There  was  a  time 
when  your  eyes  looked  into  mine  with  a  meaning 
which  a  woman  can — " 

"Forget  that  time,  Nelly,"  he  interrupted  quickly. 
"It  would  have  worked  you  evil.  Forget  it  and 
forget  me.  Leave  the  old  life ;  there  is  yet  time  to 
save  yourself." 

"If  I  do  not  care  to  be  saved?"  she  demanded 
recklessly. 

"Then  others  must  help  you." 

"I  will  have  nothing  from  you." 


354  The  Carolinians 

"I  am  sorry,  but  you  will  think  better." 

For  some  moments  she  stood,  moving  her  foot 
restlessly  and  playing  with  the  dagger  in  her  bodice. 

"You  do  not  love  that  other  ?"  she  asked  suddenly, 
and  there  was  desperate  anguish  in  her  white  face 
as  she  waited. 

"Yes,  I  love  her,  Nelly,"  he  spoke  gently.  "But 
we  will  not  speak  of  her,  if  you  please.  Tis  of 
yourself  I  wish  to  speak." 

The  girl  drew  a  long  breath,  then  she  threw  back 
her  head  and  laughed. 

"I  am  Spanish  Nelly ;  I  dance  the  'Lillies  of  Castile' 
in  the  tavern  for  gold."  She  threw  herself  into  a 
graceful  pose  and  beat  time  softly  with  her  hand 
while  her  body  swayed  languorously.  "To  jest  with 
me  is  to  live."  Again  she  laughed  mockingly. 

"Come,  Nelly,  I  will  see  you  to  your  lodgings. 
To-morrow  we  shall  have  forgotten  your  jest." 

"Yes,"  answered  Nelly,  lifting  her  head  proudly 
with  sudden  Castilian  grace,  "I  did  but  jest ;  to-mor- 
row the  remembrance  of  it  will  have  passed  away  as 
the  dew  of  the  evening."  And  she  moved  swiftly 
forward. 

Something  in  her  sudden  pride  touched  him  more 
than  had  her  passionate  abandonment,  and  in  sor- 
rowful silence  he  walked  beside  her,  lamenting  the 
evil  he  had  carelessly  wrought.  Once  or  twice  he 
glanced  sharply  about  him ;  it  seemed  that  there  came 
to  him  the  sound  of  stealthy  footsteps  somewhere. 
Suddenly,  out  of  the  yawning  gloom  of  an  alley, 
sprang  four  figures,  swords  drawn. 


The  Mettle  of  Steel  355 

"Back,  girl,  back!"  he  cried,  pushing  her  behind 
him  into  a  doorway  and  standing  at  guard,  sword 
ready. 

Right  stoutly  they  fell  upon  him.  It  was  warm 
work  to  defend  himself,  good  swordsman  though  he 
was.  Not  a  word,  not  an  exclamation ;  the  clashing 
of  metal,  the  swishing  of  naked  blades  cleaving  the 
air,  the  long-drawn  breath  of  men  full-taxed  as  the 
fight  wraxed  hotter.  Francis  Yonge  held  his  own 
full  well,  but  after  all  there  were  four  to  one,  and 
he  at  sore  disadvantage  because  of  the  girl  behind 
him,  for  ever  and  anon,  like  a  young  tigress,  she 
sprang  out  with  her  flashing  dagger,  and  then  he 
covered  her  but  the  more  hardly.  There  was  small 
hope  of  the  outcome,  but  he  meant  to  sell  his  life 
dear. 

Heavily  breathed  Francis  Yonge,  nigh  spent  was 
he;  somewhere  his  flesh  was  seared  as  with  fire  and 
warm  drops  fell,  but  he  braced  himself  fiercely  as 
there  flashed  into  his  mind  the  rumor  that  would 
come  to  Mistress  Damaris  on  the  morrow,  of  his 
having  been  killed  in  a  brawl  over  a  tavern  girl.  In 
one  of  his  assailants  he  recognized  Raff,  and  so  he 
knew  how  the  story  must  run. 

Yes,  he  must  fight  it  out.  Fight — fight — fight — 
his  brain  formed  the  word  monotonously  as  his  arm 
swung  out  more  and  more  feebly.  Again  a  blade 
touched  him  somewhere;  he  felt  himself  wavering; 
then  Nelly's  arms  wound  close  about  him,  lifting  the 
sword  and  steadying  it. 

Another  cry,  a  rush  from  somewhere  in  the  front, 
and  a  man  stood  beside  him.  It  was  Captain  May- 
nard. 


356  The  Carolinians 

With  straining  force  Francis  Yonge  braced  him- 
self for  one  more  struggle.  Strongly  the  two  swords 
played  in  tense  silence.  At  their  feet  fell  a  man.  A 
second  reeled  uncertainly  away.  Another  moment 
and  a  third  threw  up  his  arm,  his  sword  falling 
noisily.  His  companion  threw  an  arm  about  him 
and  quickly  they  disappeared  into  the  darkness. 

"My  life  is  yours  a  second  time,"  said  Yonge 
hoarsely  as  he  sank  on  the  steps,  leaning  heavily  on 
his  sword.  Nelly  stood  upright  above  him,  eyes 
flashing,  hands  clenched. 

"Cowards,  cowards !"  she  cried  furiously.  "Four 
to  one.  I  could  tear  out  their  hearts  with  my  hands !" 

"This  villain  will  never  again  trouble  the  public 
peace,"  said  Maynard  quietly,  as  he  ignored  Yonge's 
speech  and  turned  the  man  over. 

Yonge  examined  the  face  anxiously  in  the  star- 
light and  gave  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"I  have  not  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance." 

Nelly  looked  incredulous,  and  stooping  examined 
for  herself,  then  she  passed  over  to  the  other 

"His  is  but  a  blow  on  the  head ;  it  will  soon  pass," 
said  Maynard. 

"He  also  is  a  stranger,"  said  Nelly  disappointedly. 
"But  the  others?" 

"All  of  them  strangers,  I  fancy,"  said  Yonge  in- 
differently. "Half-drunken  seamen  from  some  vessel 
that  sails  with  the  tide.  Well,  we  are  pleased  to  close 
their  acquaintance  and  will  not  try  further  conclu- 
sions this  evening." 

"Why,  then,  should  they  have  set  upon  you,  hav- 
ing no  quarrel?"  asked  Nelly  eagerly,  while  May- 
nard looked  away. 


The  Mettle  of  Steel  357 

"Who  can  tell,  child  ?  The  Devil  has  many  play- 
things," answered  Yonge  nonchalantly.  "I  think 
we  were  wiser  to  go  elsewhere — the  knaves  are  not 
a  fair  and  cleanly  sight." 

He  stumbled  as  he  rose.  Nelly  was  beside  him  in 
a  flash,  her  arms  about  him. 

"Blood !"  she  cried,  holding  up  her  fingers  in 
anguish.  "He  is  wounded !" 

"Nay,  not  so.  Tis  but  a  little  blood-letting  for 
my  health's  sake,"  he  answered  coolly.  "A  bath  and 
fresh  linen  will  make  of  me  a  new  man." 

"Do  you  not  see  that  he  is  hurt?"  cried  Nelly 
sharply  to  Maynard.  "A  curse  upon  your  hands 
and  wits !"  Her  two  arms  were  about  him,  her  tears 
fell  fast  as  he  wavered  weakly.  "See,  he  will  die !" 

"Nay,  'tis  but  a  passing  weakness,  Nelly.  "Do 
not  give  yourself  womanish  alarms,"  said  Francis 
Yonge  bravely. 

In  grim  silence  Maynard  pushed  the  girl  aside  and 
almost  carried  him  as  far  as  her  lodgings. 

"Bring  him  in,  we  will  dress  his  wounds !"  com7 
manded  Nelly. 

"Not  so,  Nelly.  I  am  in  no  condition  to  enter  a 
lady's  bower.  Good-night  and  pleasant  dreams. 
You  are  a  brave  little  comrade,  Nelly,  and  to-morrow 
we  will  have  forgotten  all  about  this  troublesome 
evening."  He  lifted  her  hand  to  his  lips.  The  girl 
trembled  and  pressed  her  hand  to  her  breast. 

"Good-night,"  she  answered  bravely,  "I  have  for- 
gotten already." 

A  few  steps  farther  Francis  Yonge  stumbled  on, 
then  he  slipped  as  water  to  the  ground. 


358  The  Carolinians 

"I  am  afraid  that  the  rascals  have  done  for  me 
this  time,"  he  sighed. 

"Not  so  bad  as  all  that,"  answered  Maynard 
cheerfully.  "See  here,  guard,"  he  called  to  one 
coming  with  a  lantern. 

An  hour  later  Francis  Yonge  opened  his  eyes  in 
his  own  room.  A  candle  burned  low  by  his  bed  and 
Captain  Maynard  sat  beside  him. 

"Is  it  very  bad  ?"  he  asked,  touching  his  side. 

"A  little  more  and  all  would  have  been  said," 
replied  Maynard  quietly. 

"You  came  in  the  very  nick  of  time."  He 
stretched  out  his  arm  stiffly  over  the  coverlet. 

"Will  you  never  have  done  with  the  women.  A 
pretty  tale  this  to  come  to  her  ears !"  said  Maynard 
sharply,  disregarding  meanwhile  the  outstretched 
hand.  "The  leader  was  Raff,  the  girl's  lover,  so  the 
encounter  is  right  unsavory." 

"Nay,  by  my  oath,  you  do  me  wrong,"  said  Yonge 
with  dignity. 

"You  do  yourself  wrong,"  returned  the  other  im- 
patiently. 

For  a  time  Francis  Yonge  was  silent  while  he 
stirred  restlessly  under  the  covers.  The  candle 
burned  lower;  Maynard  moved  over  to  the  window. 

"Captain  Maynard,"  spoke  Yonge  at  last,  with  a 
short  laugh,  "it  seems  that  I  must  ever  unbosom 
myself  to  you  as  to  my  confessor.  You  do  Nelly 
wrong.  It  was  by  chance  that  we  met.  Whatever 
I  may  have  inspired  in  the  poor  child  in  a  careless 
moment  has  gone  no  farther.  Even  then  I  did 
entreat  her  to  marry  Raff  and  give  up  her  reckless 
life.  Nelly  is  but  an  ignorant  child  who  has  missed 


The  Mettle  of  Steel  359 

what  a  woman  most  needs,  and  so  God  help  her  I"  he 
ended  gravely. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  Maynard  heartily, 
coming  over  with  outstretched  hand;  "I  did  you 
wrong — I  am  sorry.  As  for  the  girl,"  his  voice 
grew  gentler,  "there  is  a  special  law  of  forgiveness 
for  such." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Yonge  gratefully.  "There  are 
always  thanks  from  me  to  you.  Why  did  you  save 
my  life?  You  might  easily  have  stepped. aside." 

For  a  long  time  he  watched  the  flickering  shadow 
of  the  candle  on  the  wall  before  the  answer  came. 

"I  do  not  know,"  answered  Maynard  at  last, 
wearily. 

"With  my  death  certain  knots  would  be  cut," 
suggested  Yonge  slowly. 

"I  would  not  have  them  cut  that  way,"  replied 
Maynard  gravely. 

"Is  it — is  it  because  we  are  friends?"  asked  Yonge 
eagerly,  his  face  flushed,  his  eyes  strangely  bright. 

"I  think  so,"  returned  Maynard  gruffly,  resting, 
his  hand  upon  that  of  the  other.  "Man  and  man  we 
have  stood  together,  man  and  man  we  will  stand  to 
the  end.  But  you  must  not  talk  more ;  you  have  lost 
enough  blood  to  kill  a  better  man." 

"So  I  have — there  must  be  fate  in  it  all.  By  my 
faith,  I  believe  the  Devil  is  dead  and  his  deeds  will 
soon  follow."  He  laughed  softly,  drew  a  deep 
breath,  then  closed  his  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE    SUM    OF    LIFE 

"The  noblest  fortitude  is  still  to  bear 
Accumulated  ills  and  never  faint." 

— Terentius. 

"Both  the  wonder  and  the  story 
Shall  be  yours  and  eke  the  glory." 

— Fletcher. 

Upon  the  afternoon  of  the  memorable  2ist  day  of 
December  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1719,  in  the  Pro- 
prietary Province  of  South  Carolina,  the  convention, 
after  leaving  the  fort,  proceeded  to  elect  a  Council  of 
twelve,  of  whom  Sir  Hovenden  Walker  was  chosen 
president.  It  also  assumed  the  authority  of  appoint- 
ing and  confirming  all  officers.  Nicholas  Trott  was 
forthwith  removed  from  the  Chief  Justiceship,  Mr. 
Richard  Allein  elected  in  his  stead.  The  only 
officers  who  were  permitted  to  retain  their  positions 
were  Francis  Yonge  and  Colonel  Rhett,  and  those 
only  inasmuch  as  the  said  offices  related  to  private 
revenues. 

Colonel  John  Barnwell  was  elected  as  a  delegate 
to  go  to  London  straightway  to  submit  the  matter 
to  the  King.  The  convention  published  a  lengthy 
article  maintaining  their  rights  and  justifying  their 
position,  whereupon  Governor  Johnson,  seeing  that 
further  resistance  was  vain,  secured  the  public 


The  Sum  of  Life  361 

records  and  wrote  a  statement  of  the  matter  to  the 
Lords  Proprietors. 

Shortly  thereafter  advices  came  that  a  fleet  was 
actually  fitted  out  at  Havana,  in  readiness  to  attack 
Carolina.  Then  the  Governor,  with  exceeding  mag- 
nanimity and  generosity  of  character,  forgetting  his 
own  private  indignities  and  humiliations,  did  essay 
right  seriously  and  appeal  most  urgently  to  the  con- 
vention, asking  to  be  allowed  to  continue  in  office 
until  this  present  war  should  be  ended,  inasmuch  as 
he  found  himself  strongly  bound  to  defend  the 
Province  until  he  should  be  released  of  his  office 
from  London,  ending  his  appeal  with  the  words :  "If 
my  reasons  have  not  weight  with  you  I  expect  they 
should,  you  ought  at  least  to  put  it  to  a  vote,  that  if 
a  majority  be  against  it,  I  may  not  have  to  justify 
myself  to  the  King  and  the  world,  who  ought  to  be 
satisfied  that  I  have  done  all  I  can  to  serve  the 
country  and  do  my  duty  in  my  station." 

To  this  generous,  dignified  and  reasonable  appeal 
from  a  man  greater  than  they,  the  convention  made 
no  answer. 

Fortunately  for  the  Colony  at  this  crisis,  Captain 
Woodes  Rogers  had  repulsed  the  Spanish  fleet  at 
Providence,  so  this  danger  was  overpast ;  then  came 
the  Flambourg,  man-of-war,  and  the  Phoenix  to 
Charles  Town,  whereupon  strife  arose  between  Gov- 
ernor and  the  convention  as  to  whose  party  the  ships 
would  affect,  and  they  declaring  publicly  for  the 
Governor,  his  staunch  heart  was  encouraged  to  make 
one  more  effort  to  regain  the  government  for  the 
Proprietors. 


362  The  Carolinians 

With  a  small  party  who  still  adhered  to  his  cause, 
including  also  his  daughter,  Lady  Kildare,  Captain 
Maynard,  Francis  Yonge  and  Mr.  Skrine,  he  em- 
barked upon  the  Flambourg,  commanded  that  both 
vessels  be  brought  up  in  front  of  the  city,  which  he 
straightway  ordered  to  surrender  to  the  lawful 
authority  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  failing  which, 
he  purposed  without  delay  to  destroy  the  rebellious 
town  with  broadsides  from  his  men-of-war. 

The  city,  however,  felt  itself  vastly  serene  in  the 
very  strength  that  Governor  Johnson  had  been  at  so 
much  pains  to  provide.  The  defenses  against  the 
Spaniard  were  equally  efficacious  against  English 
warships,  there  being  seventy  good  guns  on  their 
ramparts,  arms  and  ammunition  in  abundance,  besides 
five  hundred  men  under  arms,  who  bid  defiance  to 
Governor  Johnson. 

Seeing  that  they  were  not  minded  to  capitulate, 
Governor  Johnson  looked  sadly  over  the  town  upon 
which  he  had  commanded  the  guns  of  the  Phoenix 
and  Flambourg  to  be  trained,  and  at  this  last  it  was 
borne  upon  him  that  the  best  loyalty  in  the  world  is 
wasted  in  a  bad  cause;  that  neither  by  love  nor  by 
fear  could  he  move  the  people,  threats  being  even  as 
unavailing  as  persuasion  to  bring  them  back  to  their 
allegiance.  Then  he  turned  him  sorrowfully  to 
Captain  Hildesly,  who  awaited  his  orders. 

"The  fight  is  over,  Captain  Hildesly,"  he  spoke 
with  great  sadness.  "I  am  obliged  to  you  beyond 
words  for  your  ready  services,  which  I  will  not 
further  require.  I  am  resolved  to  move  no  further 
in  this  matter  against  my  people,  seeing  that  it  is 
useless.  I  will  await  the  King's  pleasure  in  the 


The  Sum  of  Life  363 

matter;  but,  and  it  is  agreeable  to  you,  we  will 
remain  upon  your  ship  until  the  morrow."  He 
turned,  so  finishing,  and  went  down  into  his  cabin 
alone. 

"By  my  oath,  that  is  a  great  man !"  cried  the  bluff 
Captain,  following  him  with  admiring  eyes.  "I'd 
gladly  risk  several  lives  in  his  service,  though  God 
has  given  me  but  one." 

The  day  wore  on  to  afternoon,  and  mingled  feel- 
ings there  were  in  the  hearts  of  the  little  band  of 
refugees  upon  ship-board.  There  were  sorrow  and 
anger  and  gladness  mixed  withal  in  the  hearts  of 
some  who  had  fought  for  the  Governor  but  not  for 
his  cause. 

When  darkness  fell  upon  the  face  of  the  waters 
they  sat  in  silence  somewhat  apart.  When  one  is 
alone  under  the  stars  on  a  frosty  night  the  heart 
seems  more  open  to  the  Infinite,  quicker  to  the  in- 
effable  touch  of  the  Divine,  nearer  to  the  compre- 
hension of  limitless  life.  So  sat  Damaris,  her  hands 
folded  in  her  lap,  and  ever  she  thought  upon  the 
skies,  and  how  one  adds  star  to  star  and  constellation 
to  constellation,  catching  thereby  a  fleeting  glimpse 
of  the  progression  of  the  ages  as  writ  in  nature's 
eternal  law,  and  with  a  sense  of  the  immeasurableness 
of  nature  comes  a  sense  of  life's  purposefulness  and 
of  the  eternity  of  the  soul.  Then  she  brought  her 
thoughts  back  to  earth  again.  How  strange  it 
seemed  to  be  out  here,  only  the  oaken  planks  between 
her  and  the  limitless  sea,  only  the  stars  above.  She 
looked  at  the  town.  As  a  city  of  dreams  it  seemed 
to  her,  all  of  the  old  life  set  apart  forever  by  a  day 
as  it  were ;  all  of  its  hopes  and  its  fears  and  its  loves 


364  The  Carolinians 

were  as  the  life  of  another  separated  from  her  by  the 
trackless  sea.  Then  a  wind  came  up  across  the  chill 
levels  of  the  bottomless  sea.  It  moaned  in  the 
shrouds,  it  rattled  in  the  rigging.  She  shivered,  she 
hated  the  wind ;  it  made  her  restless,  it  pulsed  with 
the  woe  and  throbbed  with  the  anguish  of  the  world. 
She  tried  to  shut  her  ears.  It  voiced-  the  blended 
misery  of  the  world,  all  the  cries  of  humanity,  all  of 
its  sighs,  its  tears  and  its  heartaches  made  up  its 
sobbing  breath ;  Hagar  and  Saul,  Rizpah  and  Rachel, 
Francesca  and  Guinevere  watched  and  wept,  moaned 
and  prayed.  She  shivered  again  with  the  thought. 
Francis  Yonge  stepped  over  and  laid  his  cloak  about 
her  shoulders.  She  shook  her  head  and  would  have 
declined. 

"Nay,  just  this  once,  sweetheart ;  'tis  a  little  thing 
and  the  last."  He  spoke  tenderly,  lingering  gently 
over  the  fastenings,  resting  his  hands  softly  upon  her 
the  while. 

She  thanked  him  and  fell  back  into  her  mood. 
He  resumed  his  old  position  where  he  could  watch 
her,  himself  in  shadow. 

"Faith,  'tis  a  right  unmerry  company.  Methinks 
I  have  fallen  into  a  graveyard  full  of  ghosts,"  said 
Lady  Kildare,  yawning,  as  she  suddenly  waked  from 
her  nap. 

"We  had  but  respect  for  your  slumbers,"  said 
Francis  Yonge  slyly. 

"Ho,  malapert,  you  are  always  monstrous  ready 
with  your  tongue  if  not  with  your  wit,"  replied  her 
Ladyship  sharply.  "Fore  the  Lord  Harry,  we  ought 
to  be  merry,  and  so  would  I  be  were  it  not  for 
Robert  Johnson,"  she  said,  glancing  over  to  where 


The  Sum  of  Life  365 

the  Governor  sat,  head  bowed  upon  his  hand  in 
thought.  "I  wonder  why  Providence  makes  good 
men  into  fools,"  she  added;  "and  yet,  'pon  my  con- 
science, I  would  rather  be  Robert  Johnson  this  night 
than  the  King's  fool  or  his  mistress." 

The  Governor  rose  and  bowed  to  her  Ladyship 
in  acknowledgment  of  what  she  meant  as  a  vastly 
fine  compliment.  She  motioned  him  to  a  seat  beside 
her,  brushing  aside  her  garments  that  smelled  of 
France,  drawing  her  furs  closer  about  her,  and  fell 
into  conversation  with  him  concerning  the  times  and 
their  promise. 

Some  one  called  Mr.  Yonge.  He  moved  away, 
returning  a  little  later,  and  took  his  position  where 
he  could  again  see  Damaris's  face  in  the  light  of  a 
lantern  that  a  sailor  had  hung  on  the  mast. 

"We  are  all  friends  here,  methinks,"  he  said,  join- 
ing the  group.  "Yea,  here  are  his  Excellency,  Lady 
Kildare,  Mistress  Damaris,  Mr.  Skrine  as  well ;  nay, 
but  where  is  our  friend  Captain  Maynard?  Some- 
thing I  have  to  say  that  concerns  him  most  nearly." 
Whereupon  the  latter,  who  was  chatting  with  the 
ship's  master  at  a  little  distance,  hearing  his  name 
called,  stepped  forward. 

"Truth,  I  am  here.  Is  there  something  new  from 
the  town?" 

"Good,"  said  Mr.  Yonge ;  '"then  have  I  not  far  to 
search,  and  what  I  have  to  say  concerns  not  the  town 
and  its  rebellions,  but  some  of  us  present.  Your 
Excellency,  the  morn  with  the  tide  sails  the  good 
ship  Gold  of  Ophir  for  England.  She  bears  dis- 
patches from  yourself  and  sundry  other  telling  of 
events  that  have  just  taken  place  in  the  Colony. 


366  The  Carolinians 

Your  Excellency,  we  have  played  a  good  game  and 
we  have  lost;  a  fairer  game  it  was  than  the  scurvy 
temper  of  our  masters  warranted.  The  government 
has  been  wrenched  from  our  hands,  for  this  present 
we  must  continue  as  we  be,  seeing  the  temper  of  the 
people  is  greatly  inflamed,  and  they  by  monstrous 
odds  the  stronger  party.  We  can  but  bide  the  King's 
pleasure.  With  your  Honor's  permission  I  will  sail 
upon  the  morn  in  the  outward-bound  vessel.  Per- 
chance in  England  I  may  do  you  some  service,  or 
mayhap  furnish  you  with  some  information  con- 
venient for  you.  For  the  rest,  know  I  not  what  my 
course  will  be,  or  when  I  shall  come  again  I  cannot 
say.  Upon  circumstance  depends  it,  seeing  that 
there  are  certain  matters  that  interfere;  seeing  also 
that  mine  own  people  do  constrain  me  in  the  matter 
to  remain  with  them.  Mayhap  I  come  not  again." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  surprise,  questions, 
exclamations  of  regret.  Damaris,  with  wide  eyes 
and  hands  close  pressed,  spoke  not  a  word.  Captain 
Maynard  breathed  hard. 

"I  warrant,  Mr.  Yonge,  that  there  be  some 
explanation  given  before  your  departure,"  said 
the  Governor  sternly,  laying  his  hand  upon  his 
daughter's  shoulder. 

"And  it  please  your  Excellency,  and  with  your 
forbearance,  I  do  come  to  that  now,  craving  first 
your  daughter's  forgiveness  for  speaking  of  rriatters 
that  concern  her  so  nearly  even  among  intimates ;  but 
it  were  better  so." 

"Proceed,"  said  the  Governor. 

Francis  Yonge  looked  at  the  girl,  who  bowed  her 
head.  He  cleared  his  throat,  then  he  looked  up  at 


The  Sum  of  Life  367 

the  stars.  When  he  spoke  at  last  his  voice  had 
grown  exceeding  gentle. 

"Some  months  agone  I  asked  Mistress  Damaris  to 
become  my  wife,  and  with  her  consent  and  that  of 
your  Honor  I  became  betrothed  to  her,  since  which 
her  conduct  and  loyalty  have  been  above  reproach. 
She  has  held  to  her  word  in  truth  and  honor,  under 
great  stress,  which  know  I  full  well,  having  over- 
heard through  mischance  a  conversation  between  her 
and  another  in  which  it  did  appear  that  they  had 
loved  each  other  long,  but  through  misunderstanding 
and  a  coil  of  most  mischievous  circumstance  an 
estrangement  had  come  to  pass.  It  chanced  that 
gossip  had  made  free  with  her  name  as  receiving  my 
attentions,  for  I  had  loved  her  long  nor  tried  to  hide 
it  before  the  world,  the  rather  gloried  in  it;  and  so 
it  befell  that  in  an  hour  of  pain  and  shame  she  gave 
me  her  promise.  Nay,  therein  is  she  not  to  blame; 
I  did  besiege  her  right  manfully.  She  told  me  that 
she  did  not  love  me.  I  was  glad  of  her  promise, 
nevertheless,  and  right  faithfully  has  she  held  to  it — 
she  would  break  her  heart,  but  not  her  word.  'Noble 
children  are  sprung  from  noble  sires.'  "  He  turned 
to  the  Governor,  bowing  low,  with  an  affectation  of 
his  old  careless  grace. 

"And  now  for  that  other,"  he  said,  turning  with 
grave  eyes  to  Captain  Maynard.  "Perchance  you 
have  heard  how  some  time  since  Captain  Maynard 
and  I  tarried  some  weeks  among  the  plantations. 
Well,  'tis  a  tale  somewhat  mistold,  and  the  matter 
stands  thus  in  truth :  By  chance  he  fell  in  with  me 
journeying  through  the  forest.  I  was  sickening  with 
a  festering  plague,  seeing  which  he  took  me  to  his 


368  The  Carolinians 

hunting  hut ;  yea,  carried  me  in  his  arms  well-nigh, 
endangering  thereby  his  own  life.  In  all  patience 
and  gentleness  he  nursed  me  back  to  health — and  I 
was  his  enemy." 

"A  noble  enemy,"  said  the  other,  "and  the  claims 
of  such  are  as  binding  as  those  of  friends." 

"An  enemy,  nevertheless,  and  one  whose  life  stood 
between  you  and  the  woman  you  loved." 

"By  my  troth,  I  would  have  done  it  for  any  man !" 
disclaimed  the  other. 

"Perchance,  but  I  was  not  any  man ;  in  very  truth, 
I  was  the  one  man  in  the  world  whom  it  behooved 
you  to  be  rid  of.  Let  that  be.  With  illness  comes 
thought,  and  in  the  wilderness  one  grows  to  be 
nearer  a  man.  Nay,  but  I  wax  tedious,  like  a  gossip- 
ing beldame.  I  will  draw  to  a  close.  Henceforth, 
with  all  honor,  reverence  and  affection  I  resign  all 
claims  upon  the  hand  of  Mistress  Damaris  Johnson." 

"You  are  a  right  noble  gentleman,  Mr.  Yonge," 
said  the  Governor  huskily,  seizing  his  hand. 

"And  of  generosity  passing  the  sons  of  men !" 
cried  Maynard  gratefully,  in  a  choked  voice,  while 
he  wrung  the  other's  hand. 

"I  thank  you  from  my  heart,  though  words  fail 
me.  Your  kindness  and  generosity  are  greater  than 
I  have  deserved,"  spoke  Damaris,  with  deep  feeling, 
though  she  raised  not  her  eyes. 

"You  are  a  fool !"  cried  Lady  Kildare.  "You  are 
all  fools ;  all  the  world  is  mad,  men  and  women  wit- 
lings merely." 

'*  'Tis  the  proudest  day  of  my  life !"  cried  Jonathan 
Skrine,  throwing  his  arm  about  his  friend.  "God 


The  Sum  of  Life  369 

be  praised  for  such  a  friend;  truly  my  feet  have 
fallen  in  pleasant  places." 

"You  are  a  maundering  old  goody,  friend  Jona- 
than," said  Francis  Yonge  mockingly;  but  he  cast 
his  arm  about  him  in  wordless  affection. 

"And  now  we  do  grow  dramatic,  now  will  I  make 
my  adieux,"  he  said  airily,  turning  to  the  Governor, 
with  a  grave  face  albeit. 

"Good-by,  your  Excellency.  '.Tis  well  to  have 
dwelt  in  the  wilderness  to  have  come  to  know  such 
a  man.  The  next  time  I  hope  that  we  will  fight  in 
better  cause  together.  God  save  the  King,  our  only 
liege !  In  Carolina  the  sun  has  set  for  the  last  time 
upon  the  fair  domains  of  the  Lords  Proprietors." 

"Good-by,  Mr.  Yonge,  and  God-speed.  The 
regrets  of  a  Province  that  you  have  faithfully  served 
go  with  you.  Fair  fortune  favor  your  return  to  a 
people  who  love  you." 

"Good-by,  my  beloved  Lady  Kildare.  Your  affec- 
tion and  concern  for  me  have  been  dear  to  me;  my 
deepest  gratitude  is  but  a  paltry  return,  and  words 
are  cold.  I  would  serve  you  with  my  life !"  he  spoke 
warmly. 

"Love's  labor  lost.  Methinks  the  plague  hath  un- 
balanced thy  brain  or  thou  hast  turned  anchorite  in 
the  wilderness.  Faugh !  I  do  abominate  a  man  of 
uncertain  temper,  and  one  white-blooded  who  gives 
up  his  love,  fairly  won,  to  another !"  raged  her  Lady- 
ship, while  Francis  Yonge  raised  her  hand  to  his  lips. 
"Fore  the  Lord  Harry !  I've  half  a  mind  to  go  with 
you  myself;  nay,  but  I  won't  neither;  I  will  not  give 
their  Lordships  so  great  satisfaction,  seeing  that  they 


370  The  Carolinians 

argue  that  loyalty  to  them  sends  me  into  exile.  Nay, 
nay,  beshrew  me,  there  yet  may  be  backslidings ; 
perchance  I  yet  may  work  them  some  mischief  and 
I  stay.  A  grudge  have  I  held  against  my  Lord 
Carteret  some  score  of  years  mayhap  I  may  yet 
discharge  and  so  increase  my  self-esteem.  Come 
back  again,  boy;  perchance  I  may  have  forgiven 
thee;  I  was  ever  of  a  forgiving  temper."  She  ended 
with  a  sigh  long-drawn,  there  was  a  break  in  the 
sharp  voice  and  moisture  in  the  hard,  bright  eyes  of 
the  indomitable  old  woman,  and  as  Francis  Yonge 
still  bent  low,  his  lips  upon  her  hand,  she  laid  the 
other  trembling  hand  upon  his  shoulder. 

"Farewell,  Captain  Maynard.  As  a  friend  I  could 
do  no  less  for  you.  Now  may  we  call  it  quits  in  all 
save  affection.  Good  fortune  attend  you." 

"Nay,  I  am  your  debtor  eternally,  and  my  grati- 
tude will  reach  to  the  grave  and  beyond." 

"Nay,  friend,  'tis  not  yet  so  proven,"  Yonge 
laughed  lightly,  the  while  he  returned  the  strong 
hand-clasp  of  the  Captain.  "Matrimony  is  a  lottery 
at  best." 

"And  now  friend  Jonathan — "  but  the  arms  of 
his  worthy  friend  were  about  him  and  he  choked  for 
utterance.  "Nay,  not  so  bear-like,  friend ;  you  mur- 
der my  ruffles  with  your  affection.  Beshrew  me, 
may  you  fall  in  love  with  dame  ungentle  and  be 
treated  in  like  fashion !  Come  out  to  England,  and 
I  come  not  back  again,  so  will  I  show  you  the  sights 
of  the  town  and  that  right  merrily." 

"Forsooth,  thou  art  a  right  lovable  rogue,  and  we 
will  grieve  for  thee  more  than  a  day,"  he  mourned. 


The  Sum  of  Life  371 

"Comfort  thyself  at  cards;  few  smarts  resist  the 
balm  of  gold,"  he  laughed;  but  the  laugh  was  right 
unmerry  and  there  was  a  man's  heart  in  the  hand- 
shake. 

And  now  he  turned  slowly  to  where  Damaris  sat 
with  bowed  head  and  hands  hard-clasped. 

"Fair,  sweet  friend,"  he  spoke  tenderly.  She 
raised  her  eyes  to  his ;  they  were  tender  and  pure  as 
the  star-shine  above,  her  face  as  white  as  the  May 
flowers.  "Fair,  sweet  friend,  farewell.  A  thousand 
thanks  for  the  play-time  we  have  had  together.  May 
life's  earnest  be  as  beautiful  for  you  as  the  play-time 
has  been  for  me." 

Damaris  felt  his  cold  fingers  close  strongly  over 
hers  and  the  lips  tremble  as  he  pressed  them  upon  her 
hand.  She  leaned  over  and  kissed  him  lightly  on 
his  brow.  He  remained  with  bowed  head  as  though 
receiving  the  benediction,  then,  lifting  his  head  with 
the  look  of  a  king,  walked  swiftly  to  the  ship's  side. 

"Hold  steady  there,  my  hearties ;  fast  with  you,  I 
am  coming  down !"  he  called,  and  the  moment  after 
he  had  taken  his  place  in  the  long-boat,  the  oars  fell 
together  in  the  water,  the  boat  shot  forward  from 
under  the  ship's  lee  into  the  open. 

After  him  were  called  the  broken  good-bys  and 
God-speeds  of  the  party  crowding  about  the  bul- 
warks. Over  the  phosphorescent  waters,  cloven  by 
the  oars  into  runnels  of  flame  and  showers  of  silver, 
the  voice  of  Francis  Yonge  came  back  to  them 
bravely : 

'  Tis  ho  for  merrie  England,  where  all  the  men 
are  brave,  the  women  fair;  and  oh,  but  my  heart  is 
glad!" 


372  The  Carolinians 

"  Tis  a  brave  man  and  a  true!"  said  the  Governor 
heartily. 

"  'Tis  a  witling  and  a  ne'er-do-well.  I  might  have 
sooner  known  it.  Beshrew  me,  I  know  the  breed 
well;  'tis  not  the  first  madcap  of  the  race  nor  the 
first  obstinate  fool.  I  am  weary  of  my  life  because 
of  the  marplots  of  men;  almost  sigh  I  to  grow  old 
that  I  may  pass  beyond  it  all.  Nay,  Mistress 
Damaris,  fore  the  Lord  Harry,  thou  art  a  deep  one, 
for  all  thy  guileless  looks ;  never  will  I  trust  woman 
more.  Do  not  stand  there  grinning  at  me,  Toma- 
hawk, because  you  think  you  have  got  the  best  of  me. 
There  is  a  story  that  tells  of  the  biter  bit;  mayhap 
you  will  yet  be  worsted.  Mistress  Damaris  has  a 
most  unruly  temper,  for  all  her  pretty  cajoleries. 
Nay,  don't  kiss  me,  girl;  I'm  not  to  be  cozened  like 
the  asses  called  men;  yet  'tis  a  pretty  tale,  and  I'll 
forgive  thee,  seeing  that  thou  art  the  only  woman 
of  wit  in  this  wilderness  and  Francis  Yonge  gone. 
And  now  will  I  leave  thee  to  thy  mischievous  devices, 
and  it  please  your  Honor,  I  would  be  handed  to  my 
cabin."  She  turned  to  the  Governor  and  courtesied 
in  her  grand  style;  the  Governor  bowed  ceremon- 
iously and  offered  his  arm.  "Nay,  but  I  loved  that 
boy ;  some  said  that  I  loved  his  grandsire.  Beshrew 
me  if  I  ever  set  heart  upon  a  man  again!  Good- 
night, pretty  schemer,  and  plots  and  counterplots 
Master  Tomahawk.  I  suppose  heaven  will  bless 
you,  whether  I  do  or  not.  Heigho,  'tis  a  meddle- 
some world." 

She  took  the  Governor's  extended  arm,  and  with 
rustling  of  scented  garments  and  tapping  of  heels 
and  cane  walked  slowly  across  the  deck.  When  she 


The  Sum  of  Life  373 

reached  the  companion-way  she  paused  and  looked 
over  to  where  shone  the  straggling  lights  of  the  little 
town  all  slumber-bound,  where  but  late  such  acts  of 
stirring  interest  had  been  enacted.  "God  save  the 
King  and  confound  our  late  masters!"  she  cried, 
waving  her  cane  aloft. 

"I  do  beseech  your  Ladyship  to  be  more  guarded 
in  your  language.  I  do  hold  this  ship  in  their  Lord- 
ships' name,"  urged  the  Governor. 

"Fiddlesticks!  You  have  played  this  mummer's 
game  long  enough,  Robert  Johnson,  and  all  fools  we 
who  played  it  for  love  of  you.  May  heaven  con- 
found their  devices  and  bring  their  ambitions  to 
naught.  God  save  the  King !" 

She  began  the  descent  of  the  narrow  stairs, 
grumbling  at  the  darkness  and  the  steepness. 

"Forsooth,  Governor,  you  will  drink  my  toast 
with  me  yet,  in  the  best  of  my  old  Madeira!"  she 
cried,  and  her  voice  died  out  in  the  gloom  below. 

During  the  night  the  Governor,  Damaris  and 
Maynard  remained  upon  deck,  the  happenings  of  the 
day  and  evening  having  left  them  with  no  desire  for 
sleep.  The  heart  of  his  Excellency  was  full  of 
grief  because  of  what  had  befallen  him  and  his  trust. 
The  souls  of  the  other  two  watchers  thrilled  to  each 
other,  heart  yearned  to  heart,  word  surged  upon 
word ;  but  a  fine  sense  of  respect  for  the  man  who 
had  passed  from  their  lives,  leaving  them  free, 
restrained  them,  as  for  one  newly  dead ;  they  looked 
at  each  other  and  up  at  the  skies  with  quiet  eyes  joy- 
filled. 

The  night  wore  away  to  the  grey  threadbareness 
of  dawn,  the  morning  star  trembled  to  its  white 


374  The  Carolinians 

death;  like  the  grave-clothes  of  a  mighty  host  lay 
the  mist  on  the  sea ;  from  the  city,  now  faintly  astir, 
came  the  boom  of  the  sunrise  gun. 

The  Governor  rose  and  stretched  out  his  hands. 

"O,  little  city,  and  stiff-necked  people,  whom  I 
have  loved,  how  have  ye  fallen  from  me,  how  failed 
in  your  allegiance !  God  knows  I  would  have  held 
you  true!" 

"No  man  could  have  done  more,"  said  Captain 
Maynard,  rising  and  standing  beside  him.  "What 
a  man  could  do,  you  have  done." 

Damaris  had  risen  too.  She  stood  with  her  arm 
slipped  into  her  father's. 

"You  have  fought  a  good  fight,  nor  swerved  from 
your  fealty,  though  all  the  world  was  against  you. 
You  have  not  brought  shame  upon  the  good  old 
name,"  she  said  proudly. 

"Whatever  I  have  tried,  so  have  I  failed ;  but  the 
name  is  clean.  Aye,  and  the  name  has  been  safe  in 
your  keeping  too,  my  daughter,  and  for  son  will  I 
look  to  your  husband."  He  took  the  girl's  hand 
that  lay  in  his  arm  and  put  it  into  that  of  her  lover. 
"For  you  two  who  have  held  true  through  all  stress, 
may  life  bring  its  blessings ;  for  me  life  with  its 
promise  is  ended!"  Sadly  he  spoke  and  walked 
away,  though  in  truth  there  was  more  the  look  of 
the  conqueror  than  of  the  defeated  in  his  fine  old 
face. 

"And  for  us,  sweet  soul,"  said  Captain  Maynard 
to  the  girl,  who  followed  her  father  with  eyes  of 
sympathy,  "for  us  the  promise  has  just  begun,  sweet- 
heart." 


The  Sum  of  Life  375 

Damaris  turned  her  face  to  him,  the  rose  light  of 
sunrise  showing  it  fairer  than  the  dawn.  Their 
eyes  met;  in  them  the  deathless  light  of  love;  hand 
in  hand,  thrilled  through,  they  stood  in  the  opening 
splendor. 

"The  promise  came  long  since,  methinks,  though 
we  dared  not  touch  it."  She  flung  back  her  head 
with  the  old  happy  laugh.  "What  think  you  of  the 
fruit  that  is  not  forbidden  ?" 


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